CHIPLEY, Fla. (AP) — Sheriff Bobby Haddock knew time was running out for a 7-monthold girl missing in the Florida Panhandle.
For five days, searchers had scoured the dense vines and marshes around the baby’s rural home, knowing that every hour a child is missing, the chances of finding them alive decreases. But Shannon Lea Dedrick was finally discovered — lying quietly in a 2-foot by 3foot cedar box under her baby sitter’s bed.
Haddock held the baby in front of flashing cameras and a cheering local audience, proudly displaying a discovery that defied statistics that show only a 30 percent chance of bringing a child home safe if they’ve been missing for more than three hours.
“We are the proud papas of a little girl,” the beaming sheriff announced, his deputies standing behind him.
Later Thursday, the Sheriff choked up as he explained how investigators found the infant after days of searching. Clothing was packed around the boxto muffle any sounds and baking soda placed inside to mask the stench of dirty diapers. She had been alone in the box for 12 hours as investigators interviewed the baby sitter.
“Time was against us,” said Haddock, who cradled Shannon in his arms as he spoke to reporters. Authorities said the baby’s mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer, gave the infant to baby sitter Susan Elizabeth Baker early Saturday, then reported her missing about 10 hours later. Haddock said Shannon apparently had been fed and cared for while she was with Baker, who lived about 12 miles from Mercer.
“Once we got the hospital, five or six of us called our wives to let them know that we found the child and a lot grown men were shedding tears,” Haddock said.
Mercer was charged Thursday with interference of child custody, desertion of a child and several other charges. Charges against Baker included neglect of a child with aggravated circumstances and interference of child custody.
Associated Press
Rebecca Padgett caresses her niece Shannon Dedrick Thursday as Washington County investigator Kenny Brock holds her following a news conference at the Washington County Sheriff’s office in Chipley, Fla.
