Shannon Lea Dedrick,7 months old, was discovered Wednesday night hidden in a large box with a lid on it beneath the bed of her babysitter, Susan Elizabeth Baker. She was missing for five days. Shannon's mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer and babysitter, Susan Elizabeth Baker were charged Thursday with several felonies, including desertion of a child and neglect of a child.
Earlier in the week, there was a frantic search for the infant after her mother called in a missing persons report for her 7 month old daughter, Shannon Lea Dedrick.
Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock reported that baby Shannon was found in a two foot by three foot cedar wood box underneath a bed in Baker's home late Wednesday night.
According to Sheriff Haddock, "The box had a lid on it, but air seemed to be getting in."
Authorities in Florida were alerted Saturday that Shannon Lea Dedrick, 7 months, was last seen by her parents early Saturday morning. The Washington County Sheriff's office in Chipley, Florida searched wooded areas and garbage cans for 11 pound Shannon Lea Dedrick.
It was estimated that Shannon had been inside the box for almost 12 hours when she was found. Baking powder, to disguise the smell of her dirty diaper, as well as a blanket, were also inside the closed box.
The baby sitter, also the child’s step-aunt and a suspect in the disappearance of her own stepson 22 years ago, was charged with aggravated child neglect. Susan Baker's bond was set at $150,000.
Shannon’s mother, Crystina Lynn Mercer, 25, was charged with deserting a child. Her bond was set at $75,000.
Both women face additional counts of interference with child custody, filing a false missing child report, filing a false report of a crime and contributing to the dependency child.
Baker’s bond was double the amount of Mercer’s due to her 2000 conviction for beating her 6-year-old stepdaughter in Beaufort, South Carolina, breaking her bones. She was sentenced to 10 years, but served only 80 days and received credit for time served.
Circuit Judge Allen J. Register on Thursday gave the state Department of Children and Families custody of Shannon, with supervised visitation allowed for her father, Dedrick Jr.
Cheryl Phillips
HULIQ.com
Sources: ABC, NewsHerald
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