Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

(http://www.news4jax.com/2009/1102/21492420_640X360.jpg)

7-Month-Old Girl Missing In Panhandle

POSTED: Sunday, November 1, 2009
UPDATED: 8:55 pm EST November 1, 2009

Officials in Florida's Panhandle are looking for a 7-month-old baby who disappeared from a Chipley home and that they are considering endangered.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office said Shannon Lea Dedrick disappeared from a home about 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

The child was reported missing by the parents and an active search is under way in the Brown Street area of Chipley. Search and rescue teams from Bay, Gulf, Jackson and Liberty counties are assisting in the search, was well as the Graceville Police Department.

Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock told the Panama City News Herald that nothing at this time makes them think the baby was abducted, but she "didn’t crawl or walk away."

The girl is 2 feet tall, weighs 11 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes.

Late Sunday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a statewide alert for the child.

Anyone with information about the child is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 850-638-6111.

 ::MonkeyNoNo:: I have a bad feeling about this.

http://www.fosterfollynews.com/comments.php?story=10362

Read comments:

 Posted By: WHY  Monday Nov 2nd, 06:35:38 AM

Why wasn't the public made aware of this yesterday, then maybe more could have been on the lookout for this baby........I know it didn't just wonder out the door....Geeez people!
Posted By: sieric Monday Nov 2nd, 06:35:09 AM

I know the mother had something to do with this! I personally know the baby, and the mother never wanted her from the start! She has confessed! Why is she not in jail!?
Posted By: NIGHTINGALE Monday Nov 2nd, 06:33:17 AM

A WASHINGTON CO. EMS EMPLOYEE TOLD US THAT BOTH PARENTS ARE MENTALLY +++++++. PRECIOUS BABY NEVER HAD A CHANCE.
Posted By: CONNCER Sunday Nov 1st, 09:32:36 PM

MY FAMILY ARE PRAYING FOR THIS SWEET LITTLE BABY.

heartbreaking.....

Sheriff's Department Issues Search For 7 Month Old Girl (UPDATE)

Missing from her home on Brown Street in Chipley since around noon on Saturday.
Monday November 2nd, 2009
 
November 2, 2009

Heard from Shannon's aunt in Texas this morning and she would like area residents to know that Shannon's mother, Christina, suffers from a growth development problem that may have been passed down to her daughter.  The problem includes a somewhat larger than average head, which her aunt says should make it easier to spot Shannon..
 

by Kathy Foster
 

            A Florida MISSING CHILD Alert has been issued for Shannon Lea Dedrick, a white female, 7 months old, 2 feet tall, 11 pounds, brown hair, and blue eyes.  She was last seen at her residence in Chipley on 10/31/09.   If you have any information on the whereabouts of this child please contact the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 850-638-6111 or 911.


The Washington County Sheriff's Department is continuing a search for blonde, blue eyed, seven month old Shannon Dedrick of 263 Brown Street in Chipley.  (Shown at left)
 

The photo at the left was submitted by Lynda Padgett, aunt of the missing child. Padget lives in Texas and reports that Shannon's mother first moved to the Ebro area to live with her grandfather and later moved to the Chipley area with her then boyfriend.

According to Sheriff Bobby Haddock,  (shown at the right with Tommy Ford of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), his department is following up every lead in their search for the child that has been missing since around noon on Saturday.

In a press conference Sunday Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock that nothing at the present makes them think the baby was abducted, but added that the infant "didn’t crawl or walk away."

Haddock said the call reporting the missing child was received by his department around 11:50 a.m. Oct. 31st and the FDLE, along with Search & Rescue from Jackson, Liberty, Bay and Calhoun counties have been at the scene. The Sheriff said the child was in the home of her parents when she went missing.

Haddock reported Sunday afternoon that approxiamtely 75 people are searching the wooded and swampy terrain area surrounding the home.

(http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o100/klaasen3/Sub7/Shannon.jpg)

(http://www.fosterfollynews.com/news/images/2009nov1kathyscamera008.jpg)

Oh, KLAAS! So do I.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

 ::MonkeyNoNo::

OMG not another one. I really hope that 11 pounds is a typo. If not that is really small for a 7 month old. My gut says this is not going to turn out well for this precious little one.

Good Morning Monkeys and Guest!

FWIW  ::MonkeyTears::

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/chipley-fl/TBBMC04K2D553SJ3N

Tab
Graceville, FL
#7
11 hrs ago
 
Are you refering to the baby, Shannon, about 7 months old going missing from Brown St. in Chipley, Fl.? I know her! She is a very sweet child, I hope they find her soon! I know more but can't say much right now.


Tab
Graceville, FL
#9
10 hrs ago
 
Well, the baby is my aunts niece. The parents to the little girl were neglectful, and the mother has already said she put the baby in the woods, and covered her with leaves. I hope the Lord takes care of her!


Tab
Graceville, FL
#10
10 hrs ago
 
But the mother will not tell them WHERE in the woods she put the baby! It has been really cold for 2 nights now, and raining! I pray for the best, but fear the worst!


Tab
Graceville, FL
#13
10 hrs ago
 
Yes, it will come back to her for doing this! She has not cried once since baby Shannon went missing, and the baby was "found" missing by her parents at 9am Sat. morning, but didn't call the law until almost lunch time! The mother has made the comments before that she wished Shannon was dead, and Friday night the mother took the baby "walking" late that night! I know she did it, and she told the police already that she put her in the woods and covered her with leaves! Tell me what mother would do that! I am just beside myself!

Tab

Graceville, FL
#16
9 hrs ago
 
Rusty is my aunts brother. Rusty is tina's boyfriend! When everyone was given the lie detector test, everyone passed except Tina. She failed. Tina told rusty what she had done, and rusty told my aunt. When my aunt told the detective what Tina had said, he said that Tina had actually told them that already. Confusing, but Tina has made the remarks before that she wish Shannon was dead. If you are from Texas I am quessing you are her mother. I know you had a reporter from Texas come to help, but search parties are still looking for the baby in the woods, and until proof comes Tina can't be held in custody. My prayers are with you all. I was holding Shannon only a couple of days ago, it just don't seem right. Tina took Shannon walking in the stroller late Friday night. She woke up to notice Shannon gone at 9am but didnt call the law til lunch.

Many prayers for yet another innocent child.  May God watch over you and keep you safe.   :smt056

maybe the mother put Shannon in the woods and covered her up with the leafs and Shannon is still alive? please let that be the case and God speed to find her while she is alive...

I hope that mom placed her out there and did not kill her first...

am I the eternal optimist or what?  ::MonkeyAngel::  sending this angel to Shannon to protect her  until she is found....

http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/missing_child_in_chipley/mbb7719648/

(http://www.northwestfloridaonline.com/panhandleparade/images/gallery/firstframes/Shannon_Lea_Dedrick_medium.jpg)

UPDATE: Amber Alert Issued for Missing Child in Chipley
11/01/09 - 05:04 PM
By: Erin Hawley

Chipley, Fla:

An Amber Alert is issued for a baby missing in Washington County.

Washington County Sheriff’s Officials tell News 13 that a 7-month old child, Shannon Lea Dedrick, has been missing from a home in Chipley since yesterday. They say the child was reported missing at around 11:30 a.m. yesterday by the parents. They are centering their search in the Brown Street area. Officials say search and rescue teams from Bay, Liberty, and Gulf Counties are assisting in the search. They are also receiving assistance from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Graceville Police Department.

If you have any information… please call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 638-6111.

What an awful story. I pray this child is safe - if she is it only by the power of angles watching over her.  ::MonkeyAngel:: Why would the grandparents not report that this child was in danger?  IF the parents are mentally +++++++ or mom said she wished the baby dead, then WHY would someone not have CPS out there? I know in Michigan they give in home help to parents to teach them how to parent. Does anyone know if they have had dogs out looking in the woods? I know there are lots of leaves ect on the ground here but still the dogs should be able to find her.

This is why I am so pro adoptioin - there are lots of parents out there that would have loved and cared for this child. Instead it seems that society encourages young unfit parents to keep the kids. How selfish!   ::MonkeyNoNo::

Oh Lord please let them find this baby safe and alive!

http://www.chipleypaper.com/news/baby-4619-chipley-continues.html
Search continues for missing baby
November 02, 2009 8:59 AM
ANDREW GANT, Florida Freedom Newswire

CHIPLEY – Authorities from four counties were searching the woods early Sunday for a 7-month-old baby missing since Saturday morning.

The child, Shannon Lea Dedrick, “didn’t crawl or walk away,” said Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock.

Asked what could have happened to the child, Haddock said investigators were “looking at everything” and “at this time, we couldn’t say.”

Haddock also said “there’s nothing to lead us to believe at this time that this is an abduction.”

The infant was reported missing from the family’s Brown Street home about 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Both the mother and father were present, Haddock said.

Search-and-rescue teams from Bay, Gulf and Liberty counties joined Washington County authorities combing a wooded area near the house.
They searched until 1:30 a.m., Haddock said, without any luck.


The site was south of U.S. 90, an area of dense woods near South Boulevard and Orange Hill Road.

Haddock said the case still was considered a search and rescue effort, not a search and recovery.


He asked anyone with information in the disappearance to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 638-6111.

The state Department of Law Enforcement also issued a missing child alert, listing the little girl as 2 feet long and 11 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Darla - I found this and think that 11 lbs could be right if she does have this condition.  Still very timy though...

http://www.bloggernews.net/122826

--snipped--

Shannon’s aunt from Texas notified the sheriff’s office to tell them she would like the area residents to know that Shannon’s mother, Christina suffers from a growth development problem that Shannon could have inherited. She says the problem includes a somewhat larger than average head. She is reporting this in hopes that this would make her niece easier for a stranger to spot.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/11/02/Baby-disappears-from-Florida-home/UPI-76031257180127/
Baby disappears from Florida home
Published: Nov. 2, 2009 at 11:42 AM
CHIPLEY, Fla., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- A search was under way in Chipley, Fla., for a 7-month-old baby girl who disappeared from her house while her parents were home, authorities said.

Shannon Dedrick was reported missing Saturday and no sign of her had been found as of late Sunday, The Panama City (Fla.) News Herald reported.

"There's nothing to lead us to believe at this time that this was an abduction" and she "didn't walk or crawl away," Washington County Sheriff Bobby Hancock told the News Herald in a story published Monday.

Deputies from three counties were searching dense woods south of U.S. 90, he said.

A missing child alert described the baby girl as 2-feet tall, 11 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes

My sons father is from Vernon which is in Washington County and my Sons ex girlfriend lives right there in Chipley, Im trying to call her now and see if she knew these people or what is being said and done there....I will post what I learn here in a while,....poor baby.

“Cadaver dogs and specific-scent dogs from Chattahoochee Corrections and other institutions are also being used, ” Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said.

http://www.newsherald.com/articles/person-78739-baby-case.html

Also they have a POI

Sooooo OMG sad!!   ::MonkeyTears::

http://www.newsherald.com/news/person-78739-baby-case.html (http://www.newsherald.com/news/person-78739-baby-case.html)


CHIPLEY — Investigators said Monday they have identified a person of interest in the case of a missing 7-month Washington County baby.

About 75 volunteers and officers still were searching Monday for the missing child, Shannon Lea Dedrick, who authorities said went missing between 3 and 11 a.m. Saturday and has been the subject of an search since then.


“We’re not leaving any stone unturned,” Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said. “We’re even checking every Dumpster, residential garbage cans, and bags of garbage, ditches and culverts.

Haddock said at this point nothing leads to evidence of an abduction. The name of the person of interest has not been released.







I hate to say it but I think they know what happened and now are looking at a recovery instead of rescue.

Oops I meant to highlite this: A press conference has been scheduled for 3 p.m. but ended up deleting it by accident.

Am guessing that LE already having a likely POI is the reason no 'amber alert' was given?  Seems that has happened in other cases.  While many of us were screaming for an amber alert in one case, turns out LE already had ahold of the POI leading them to the body.  They just hadn't told the public what they knew and were doing at that point.  So their lack of an amber alert in that case, as it turns out, made sense.   It's so hard to be patient at this end, getting as many facts as possible.  I for one want to know what LE knows when they know it, but realize that can jeopardize a case.  Sigh. 

So sad, poor little baby. I can never understand these things. 

Neither can I especially since we have the safe haven thing or whatever it's called. You can drop the baby off at the fire station or hospital no questions asked. From what I read apparently DCF was called in to check on these parents before. WHy they didn't take the baby when the Mother clearly stated she didn't want her or wished her dead is BEYOND me. There are so many people that would make wonderful parents that can't have children, the lists are in the thousands. Good Grief. I just don't get it.

This little baby girl is so adorable and so cuddly looking.  You just look at these pictures and you have to smile.

It seems that the parents aren't aware of what a wonderful gift from God she was.  I wonder why other famil members didn't step in and take over for them and call family services to get this baby and family the help they so needed.  Just heartbreakingly sad.  Maybe by some miracle she will be found alive..but that's along time for an infant to go without a bottle.

From what I have read, the family did call DCF on her.. They tried to get something done. One person claiming to be a family member said the baby's mother had said she wished she were dead at one time.. so sad... the mother and father from what is being said are both mentally stunted, for lack of a better way of saying it at them moment. I am so upset over this, such a beautiful baby and so young and innocent. No way at all of defending herself. makes me sick.

I agree it seems a family member would have stepped in. If they didnt have any family in FL though the state may not have allowed family members from out of state to take that baby out of the state and care for her if DCF has a case there. I know a woman who was trying to help her baby nephew who was 1 state over and couldnt take him into her home bc she lived in a different nearby state, she was very upset and she would have definetly took care of that baby but the child went to the state instead but at least he did go somewhere besides in the conditions he was in (his parents were also mentally challenged) and nothing like this happened first. I really hope they find this baby girl alive! This is so aweful.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gLo6tkoDmIwiLD0bW7WZ0hpGax4QD9BNIV580
Infant missing from home on Florida Panhandle

(AP) – 13 minutes ago

CHIPLEY, Fla. — A 7-month-old infant has gone missing from her home in a small town in the Florida Panhandle.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office said Monday that Shannon Dedrick disappeared sometime between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturday from her home in Chipley, about 80 miles northwest of Tallahassee.

Since then, about 75 search and rescue workers from three counties have scoured the surrounding area. They were joined by K-9 teams and volunteers in a 14-hour search beginning late Saturday morning, and continued nonstop since 7 a.m. on Sunday.

The arm-to-arm search has covered a half-mile radius of Shannon's home, and deputies are expanding the area each hour.

Shannon was described as 2 feet tall and 11 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20091102/BREAKINGNEWS/91102007/Update--Person-of-interest-ID-d-in-missing-baby-case
Update: Person of interest ID'd in missing baby case

By JAY FELSBERG • PANAMA CITY NEWS HERALD • November 2, 2009

Next Page

    * 1
    * | 2

Previous Page
1:30 p.m.

CHIPLEY — Investigators said Monday they have identified a person of interest in the case of a missing 7-month Washington County baby.

About 75 volunteers and officers still were searching Monday for the missing child, Shannon Lea Dedrick, who authorities said went missing between 3 and 11 a.m. Saturday and has been the subject of an search since then.

A press conference has been scheduled for 4 p.m.

“We’re not leaving any stone unturned,” Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said. “We’re even checking every Dumpster, residential garbage cans, and bags of garbage, ditches and culverts.

Haddock said at this point nothing leads to evidence of an abduction. The name of the person of interest has not been released.

“The child couldn’t walk away; the child couldn’t crawl away,” Haddock said.

Haddock said he could not release the names of the child’s parents, and no phone number under Dedrick was listed in the local phone book. The family’s home, at 793C Brown Street, sits about 100 yards off the road and was sealed off by deputies looking for evidence. The address is just over the Chipley city limits in Washington County, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) is lead agency in the search.

The “arm-to-ground search” has covered about a half-mile radius around the home as of midday Monday, and a Sheriff’s Office news release indicated the coverage area was expanding by the hour.

Haddock said Monday morning the search included 75 personnel from Liberty, Bay and Gulf search and rescue organizations, and has included officers from the Chipley Police Department, Graceville Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement, in addition to deputies from WCSO.

“Cadaver dogs and specific-scent dogs from Chattahoochee Corrections and other institutions are also being used,” Haddock said.

Firefighters from various Washington County departments also are aiding in the search.

The search-and-rescue volunteers use the global positioning system as part of their search procedure.
(2 of 2)

Saturday’s search extended until 1:30 a.m. Sunday and resumed at 7 a.m. Sunday. The search was ongoing Monday.

About 1,300 tips were called in when the missing child alert was first posted Saturday, authorities reported.

“We would like to thank those who have contacted law enforcement officers with tips in reference to baby Shannon,” Haddock said in a news release. “All tips are being thoroughly investigated, and I would ask that you continue to contact our office at (850) 638-6111 if you have any information concerning this missing child.”

News Herald Day City Editor Will Glover contributed to this story.

12:43 p.m.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a call just after 11 a.m. Saturday in reference to a missing child.

Shannon Lea Dedrick, 7 months, 11 lbs in weight, 24 inches in height was reported missing by her parents from their home in Chipley. Shannon was believed to have gone missing between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Deputies responded to the home and within minutes both FDLE and Bay County Sheriff’s Office were brought in to assist. A missing child alert was initiated, sending approximately 1300 calls to residents in the region.

Approximately 75 search and rescue personnel from Liberty, Gulf and Bay counties, as well as K-9 teams and volunteers from local fire departments have worked an extensive ground search effort. They have been searching continuously except for a short break between 1:30 a.m and 7 a.m. Sunday.

The arm-to-arm ground search has covered approximately a half-mile radius around the home and deputies are expanding that area each hour. Investigators with Washington County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of investigators with FDLE, Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Chipley Police Department, Holmes County Sheriff’s Office and Graceville Police Department are currently working an investigation into any and all leads at this time.

“We would like to thank those who have contacted law enforcement officers with tips in reference to baby Shannon” states Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock. “All tips are being thoroughly investigated and I would ask that you continue to contact our office at 638.6111 if you have any information concerning this missing child.”
Missing child alert

An endangered missing child alert has been issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Shannon Dedrick, born March 11, 2009, was last seen at her residence in Chipley on Saturday.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Washington County Sheriff's Office at (850)638-6111
Next Page
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20091102/BREAKINGNEWS/91102007/Update--Person-of-interest-ID-d-in-missing-baby-case

I believe this is the area of the home/search:

(http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o100/klaasen3/Sub7/ShannonHouse.jpg)

i get that impression and if the above blogger that claims to be related to the family is real and truthful (which we don't know is the case but) then the mom stated she wished she was dead not i'm gong to kill her... makes a difference to me (I have uttered (not yelled in rage) at times so and so I'm going to kill you in frustration to my kids before but i have never stated i wish they were dead!!!)  i would tend to think she would have put her in the woods and let her become dead as opposed to killing her just my hunch tho.
if this child is found to be dead then i hope that she was like tat before being put in the woods... i can't imagine a scarier death for a baby then to be cold and alone in the dark

http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/person_of_interest_in_baby_disappearance/mbb7719664/

Person of Interest in Baby Disappearance
11/02/09 - 04:18 PM
By: Heather Kretzer

Washington County, Fla:

At a news conference Monday afternoon Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said that they have a person of interest in the case of missing 7-month-old Shannon Lea Dedrick.  They would not release the name of the potential suspect or any further details.

For the first time we also now know that the last time Shannon was seen she was in her parents’ bedroom when they went to sleep Saturday.  The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says she went missing some time between 3:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.  Her parents reported her missing around 11:30 a.m.

Immediately following the report the Sheriff’s Office says 1300 calls to residents in the area were made.  On Sunday night, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement put out a Missing Child Alert.

The Sheriff’s Office is searching the wooded area near Shannon’s home at 793C Brown Street in Chipley.  Many other agencies are assisiting in the search including Bay, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Liberty County Sheriff’s Offices as well as police departments for Graceville and Chipley. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Posse was searching the area Monday afternoon.

If you have any information, please contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 850-638-6111. 

Thanks for the arial map Klaasend.  If her house is on the east side of Brown the woods aren't very big, are they?  xox

 ::MonkeyMad::
Another beautiful little soul failed, at all levels.
this is completely senseless and this tragedy could of been avoided AGAIN!

JMO, sorry for the rant, just want to move to a cave somewhere.

I just wonder since there are several unsolved missing children cases in Fl. and other states
if people think it is just a easy crime to get away with these days...just thinking out loud.

hoping for a miracle here....hope that Shannon is found alive...
hang on little one...help is on the way...

Check this conversation out klass, all!

Tab says:

Well, the baby is my aunts niece. The parents to the little girl were neglectful, and the mother
has already said she put the baby in the woods, and covered her with leaves. I hope the Lord takes care of her!
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/chipley-fl/TBBMC04K2D553SJ3N/post9

http://fosterfollynews.com/news/2009Nov1MissingChild.php

(http://fosterfollynews.com/news/images/2009nov2sheriffspressconference007.jpg)


No Indication of Aduction In Missing Child Case (UPDATE)
Shannon Dedrick has been missing from her home on Brown Street in Chipley since around noon on Saturday.
Monday November 2nd, 2009

 

by Kathy Foster

In a 3 p.m. press conference Monday Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock announced the
search and rescue mission directed toward locating 7-month-old Shannon Lea Dedrick (left) has turned up no strong clues, but he added that close to 100 people are still scouring the area around her home looking for her.

A large number of vehicles are located in a staging area at the east end of South Boulevard where equipment and manpower could be seen coming and going throughout the day on Monday.

According to Haddock,  the infant was discovered missing from the family residence (shown at the left) about 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31st.  He said a short time later the Washington County Sheriff's Office received a call concerning the missing infant.  The mobile home is located on property belonging to Debra McGhee on Brown Street.

At Monday's press conference Haddock said once his office became involved Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Bay County Sheriff's Department were called in for assistance.

K-9 units initially searched a 500-600 yard area around the residence; however, Haddock said that perimeter has widened each hour as no trace of the baby has been found.

 
(http://fosterfollynews.com/news/images/2009nov2sheriffspressconference003.jpg)
(The photo at the right shows the lane leading back to the residence occupied by Shannon's parents Christina Mercer and Rusty Dedrick.)

According to Haddock, the child was in the bedroom with her parents at the time of her disappearance which is projected to have taken place between 3:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 31st.

Haddock said on Monday that a Team Adam had flown in to join the search effort.

The Sheriff permitted some questions at Monday's press conference, but indicated that he would not answer any questions directed about any possible family involvement in the disappearance and refused to go into specifics about the investigation.

Haddock did say his office has no indication of an abduction in the case.

When asked if polygraph tests had been administered to anyone involved in the case, Haddock wouldn't answer.

Asked about Shannon's parents having any problems with law enforcement, Haddock said neither had records.

Asked why the child's parents were not present at Monday's press conference,  Haddock said they were upset and are presently counting on the Sheriff's Department to talk on behalf of the family.

The investigation into the disappearance of Shannon Dedrick has reached all the way to Texas where Shannon's maternal grandmother received a visit from law enforcement officers wanting to know if she had seen the baby.

http://www.chipleypaper.com/news/baby-4619-chipley-continues.html

((snipped))

WCSO: Rumors untrue

Rumors that the mother of the missing child has confessed to burying the body and that digging is underway at the old Chipley dump are untrue, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

Public Information Officer Andrea Gainey said she was familiar with the rumors that they were incorrect. The various search teams are staging out of the old dump that is a short distance from Brown Street where the baby disappeared from, and that activity could have led to some of the rumors.

Thanks Klaas.

My God, when will this end? I pray this baby is found soon. People have to understand, when a parent makes a comment like I wish she were dead, LE needs to step in and take the child to safety.

Good Evening Monkeys and Guest!

Have been out all day and was praying this little one had been found safe. I just reread the sheriff's statement about 3 times....the baby could not walk away or crawl away, but did not think she has been abducted......so that kind of only leaves the parents is my way of thinking. God Bless Shannon!

http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/68775902.html

Authorities are continuing their search for a missing Chipley girl.
7-month-old Shannon Dedrick disappeared from her parents home on Brown Street on Saturday morning.
Several agencies have joined in the search efforts, which has continued around-the-clock.
Authorities are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

Search and rescue teams scoured several areas near the Dedricks home on Brown Street, checking abandoned homes, wooded areas and trash bins on Tuesday.
"The ground search is the primary, we have dumpster dove every dumpster in the city limits of Chipley, we have turned over every garbage can and taken it apart in that area and any leads we might get that lead us in the city limits of Chipley and Washington County we're following up on," says Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock.
Authorities say 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick disappeared between the hours of 3am to 11am on Saturday morning.
They say she was last seen in the custody of her parents at their Brown Street home in Chipley.
Lisa Blaylock and Tanya Wilt live next to the Dedricks and recall how Shannon's mother first approached them about her disappearance.
"She's like 'have you guys seen anybody pull in our driveway today?'"
"We're like, 'no, why?'"
"Cause my baby's missing...at first we thought it was a joke but just as plain as I'm saying it to you, just 'my baby's missing.'"
Both women say Shannon's father was very upset about her disappearance but the mother didn't seem to be.
"Very happy baby, never cried, they've lived there two months, we've never heard the baby cry on time. It's just very sad, very, very sad."
There are reports that the mother allegedly confessed to killing the baby and burying her in the woods near a landfill.
But authorities won't confirm those stories.
"We're not going to go into specifics about what she may or may not have said or not said but we're not doing any digging at the old landfill. The old landfill now is being a staging area for the ground teams."
Authorities say they do have a person of suspicion but would not elaborate on any details or if Shannon was abducted.
"We're not ruling that out but at this time, we don't have that indicator that we have an abduction. But we can't say that we're positive that's not happened."
Haddock also refused to comment on whether or not he believed Shannon was still alive, only saying they are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
And so are her neighbors.
"I just hope she's alive."
"That's our only hope. Before it was for the parents' comfort, now we just hope the baby's ok."

Shannon Dedrick is about 24 inches tall and weighs about 11 pounds.
If you have any information about this case, please contact the Washington County Sheriff's Office at (850)-638-6111.

Search Continues For Missing Chipley Baby + Video

http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/68775902.html

 Authorities are continuing their search for a missing Chipley girl. 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick disappeared from her parents home on Brown Street on Saturday morning. Several agencies have joined in the search efforts, which has continued around-the-clock. Authorities are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
Posted: 6:43 PM Nov 2, 2009
Reporter: Vanessa Nguyen

Trim already posted this link. I am posting it again so peeps will read the comments
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20091102/BREAKINGNEWS/91102007/Update--Search-efforts-continue-for-missing-7-month-old-Chipley-girl-

(http://www.northwestfloridaonline.com/panhandleparade/images/gallery/firstframes/02nov09_awalker_dedrickpkg.jpg)

Neighbors React To Child’s Disappearance
http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/neighbors_react_to_childs_disappearance/mbb7719670/

This is the first release I've seen that indicates someone other than the mother may have been responsible.

http://www2.dothaneagle.com/dea/news/crime_courts/article/authorities_continue_search_for_missing_7-month-old_girl/105570/

By Lance Griffin
Published: November 2, 2009
Updated: November 2, 2009
» 0 Comments | Post a Comment
CHIPLEY, Fla. — For the past two months, Tanya Wilt and Tina Blaylock received periodic visits from a mother and her docile infant daughter who lived next door in this Washington County, Fla., town.

They’ve been neighbors for the past two months. Their mobile homes are separated by just a few feet at the end of a dirt road off Brown Street in Chipley.

“(The mother) came by a lot to borrow cigarettes or use the microwave to pop popcorn,” Wilt said. “She would have the baby sometimes. They bragged about that baby everywhere, all the time. She was a totally happy and content child, always. We never once heard her cry.”

Something happened early Saturday morning that has investigators as well as search and rescue teams from several neighboring counties searching the thick, wooded, marshy area around the home for 7-month-old Shannon Lea Dedrick. Her parents reported her missing at 11:23 a.m. Saturday, prompting an intensive search of the area. She is still missing.
Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said investigators have been talking to a “person of suspicion” they believe could resolve the case. Haddock was tightlipped about the details surrounding Shannon Lea’s disappearance, citing an ongoing investigation. He declined to release the parents’ names. He also declined to release the person of suspicion’s name or relation, if any, to the parents.

Wilt and Blaylock said they saw what they believed to be a grey van near the residence the night Shannon Lea went missing. They said the van has been at the residence numerous times over the past two months.
Haddock said several search and rescue teams from the region began an arm-to-arm search of the immediate area around the residence Saturday morning.

The search extended Sunday and continued into the evening on Monday. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also assisting with the investigation.

“We’re hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst,” Haddock said.

Haddock said Shannon Lea’s parents called the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to report her missing Saturday, telling investigators she was in the same bedroom as the parents and could have gone missing as early as 3 a.m. or as late as 11 a.m. He did not indicate whether the parents were believed to be implicated in her disappearance, but did say they have no past criminal history. He described the parents’ emotional state as “upset.”

Search and rescue personnel created a staging area at the old Washington County landfill not far from Brown Street and used all terrain vehicles and horses to navigate the thick woods. Scent-specific dogs are also being used. Haddock said the dogs picked up a faint scent briefly, but nothing that led investigators to a specific site.
“The dogs are more effective in tracking a person that walked away from a place, but this baby couldn’t walk,” Haddock said. “The child cannot walk or crawl. It did not leave the residence by itself.”

Haddock said the parents have chosen not to make a public statement.

“We are making that appeal and acting for the family,” Haddock said.

Wilt and Blaylock said they were surprised to learn about Shannon Lea’s disappearance.

“This is crazy,” Wilt said. “This is something you always hear about happening somewhere else. You never think about it happening in your backyard.”

 ::MonkeyNoNo::  Shameless

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/chipley-fl/TBBMC04K2D553SJ3N/p6

come to websleuths

Port Allegany, PA
   
#111
1 hr ago

Tab,
You should come and post what you know on Websleuths. No one would be mean to you there and if they were they'd be banned for it:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.p...
Please join!

Its a shame children in other countries are starving and children in the USA are just disappearing off the face  of the earth...makes me so sad. ::MonkeyMad::

I thought the same thing..that after they banned certain folks after reading their pm's..

Hi Klaas and Thanks for that.  I have NEVER seen that done before!  I guess it is fine but odd as I think it has been infered there that poster is 'trollish'.  LOL  Wouldn't last long anyway as they seem to have a bit of a temper!!!!!

O/T

That's exactly why we have disabled the PM function here at SM.  Back in 2005 the old Administrators and Moderators were reading PM's.  All kinds of that type of thing going on and causing problems so Red closed down the forum.  He only opened it back up after firing the old Admin/mods and after I promised I'd help him out in the forum.  We figured it would be easier to disable the PM function than to get people to trust that PM's weren't being read. I agreed to help in October 2005 during the Natalee Holloway case figuring the case would certainly be solved by December 2005.   ::MonkeyRoll::

Hmm,  I've missed that and only know of a poster who was banned for hacking into PM's.  That was back in 2003 but had us all a goin'   ::MonkeyDevil2::

If you had only known huh? hehehe.. you love us monkeys though, or you would not be here still. right?   ::MonkeyAngel::

Food you eh? Glad you are here though!

Self edit!

OMG - give me coffee!!!!!!

Klass...are you talking 'bout my hero the brilliantly funny Red Ranger?  I kinda gotta crush on him!  Kidding, I hear he's already taken by a wonderful woman you may know!?  Can you tell me if that's true or should I just mind my own pea brain bidness?

I'm honestly not sure if "Red Ranger" is Red the owner of this blog.  I know Red Ranger posts on Blinks blog but I don't have time to follow all the posts on Blink's site.  As far as Red being taken, it's certainly not by me.  Red and I have worked together on this forum and blog for 4.5 years but I've never even spoken to him on the phone.  Hope that clears at least one thing up for you and others.  ::MonkeyCool::

http://www.chipleypaper.com/news/chipley-4622-leaving-stone.html

‘We’re not leaving any stone unturned’
By JAY FELSBERG and ANDREW GANT, Florida Freedom Newspapers
2009-11-03 10:02:25

CHIPLEY — The search for a missing baby girl continued Monday in the woods around her parents’ home, where teams of dog handlers hacked through brush and turned over trash in hopes of finding her.

Sheriff Bobby Haddock said the search was underway again Tuesday morning.

They didn’t, despite widening their perimeter every hour. And as the second day of searching ended, what happened to 7-month-old Shannon Lea Dedrick remained a mystery.

“We’re not leaving any stone unturned,” said Haddock, whose agency took the lead in the case. “We’re even checking every Dumpster, residential garbage cans, and bags of garbage, ditches and culverts.

“The child couldn’t walk away; the child couldn’t crawl away.”

Baby Shannon went missing from the family’s home at 793C Brown Street sometime between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, when the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a call about her disappearance.

The case was growing more difficult to piece together Monday as Haddock said investigators did have a “person of interest” in the case but that there was no sign of any abduction.

The person of interest remained unnamed.

So did Shannon’s parents, whom Haddock said had no significant prior run-ins with law enforcement. The parents were not speaking to reporters; Haddock spoke on their behalf at an afternoon press conference.

A state Department of Children and Families spokeswoman said the agency was helping authorities in the case. Any records of agency action on the child’s behalf, however, would be confidential unless Shannon was found dead, said spokeswoman Barbara Ash.

“We don’t know where the baby could be,” Ash said. “It’s heartbreaking. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that they find her.”

Neighbors of the taped-off trailer said the rural dirt-road community was quiet, and most residents kept to themselves. Some had never seen the family. They had no information about any unusual activity there the night of Shannon’s disappearance.

“They had only lived here about two months. I only know that this is a wonderful neighborhood and I’ve always felt safe here,” said Donna Davis, who lives two homes down.

“I just know there’s a baby missing and I hope they find it,” said another neighbor, Susan Martinez.

Several children played in the road Monday as a sheriff’s deputy guarded the scene and nearly 100 volunteers and officers searched the woods. The barking of search dogs echoed.

The trailer’s lights were on after dusk Monday, but a sheriff’s deputy outside said he did not know if anyone was inside. It appeared to be empty, with the doors and windows, closed and intact, showing no signs of forced entry.

Haddock earlier said he would not call the search a recovery effort; he termed it a rescue. But nearly 100 searchers during Monday’s effort were poking long sticks through thickets lining Brown Street and doubling back to search again in spots where trash was heavy.

One dog handler said there were several such spots, littered with debris. The trash included baby diapers.

The trailer itself sits about 100 yards off Brown Street, down a dirt path lined by trees. It is just outside the Chipley city limits, in the county’s jurisdiction.

Search and rescue organizations from Liberty, Bay and Gulf counties came to help. Sheriff’s deputies from Bay, Walton and Jackson counties joined police from Graceville and Chipley and state Department of Law Enforcement officials in the woods. Firefighters rode all-terrain vehicles.

Haddock said cadaver dogs and specific-scent dogs from Chattahoochee Corrections and other facilities were deployed in the search.

A command post down the road was busy for much of the day Monday, with several trucks speeding out with emergency lights flashing. Searchers were using GPS as part of the effort.

Saturday’s search extended until 1:30 a.m. Sunday and resumed at 7 a.m. About 1,300 tips were called in when the missing child alert was first posted Saturday.

Haddock asked anyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 850-638-6111.

well goodness, I thought this baby would have ben found by now, what the hell happened to this little baby that LE cant find her, like they said she couldnt walk, couldnt crawl, well then that leaves only that someone carried her somewhere, if it wasnt the parents then it was the people in the grey van, all this shouldnt take too much time to find out....good Lord,,

Hoping today that no news is good news.

God keep you safe sweet little Shannon.

http://fosterfollynews.com/news/2009Nov1MissingChild.php


Search Continues For Baby Shannon (UPDATE)
Shannon Dedrick has been missing from her home on Brown Street in Chipley since around noon on Saturday.
Tuesday November 3rd, 2009

Nov. 3, 2009

 

by Kathy Foster


Air and ground searches are continuing as law enforcement personnel expand their search for the missing 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick.

Mounted patrols, foot patrols and a helicopter could be seen Tuesday morning searching areas expanding from the intial search being made around the 793C Brown Street address in Chipley where the young white female infant disappeared from the home where her parents were living last Saturday.

According to the Washington County Sheriff's Department they are still in the search & rescue mode.
 (snipped)

I hope I did this right. Please light a candle and say a prayer for Shannon to be found safe.

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=SLD

You sure did.  Thank you!

You did good!  ::MonkeyAngel::

Thanks N&N.   ::MonkeyKiss::

OT for a moment...Thanks Klass for answering my ?'s and yes I was referring to Red Ranger, thought they may be the same person and again I saw it posted that you two (Red) were married.  Curiosity got the best of me.   I forget sometimes that we are all 100's of miles apart and I get to feeling like I'm talking to my friendly neighbors next door and can say anything.  I know I need to remember where I am and use my manners.  You know what they say about my assuming stuff...

As for baby Shannon it's very weird here 20 mins away from her home and it almost feels like I am reading about HaLeigh.  No kidding!  Nobody is saying a word here.  Nada!  We all think it's the parenst but what about the van seen around the trailor?  They aren't asking for help or the usual things they normally do. It's been in the low 40's here and that baby is too small to be out in this weather without food or water if her egg donor did leave her.  Any clues on the bio dad?

http://www.chipleypaper.com/news/search-4633-dedrick-news.html

No new news in Dedrick search
November 03, 2009 4:08 PM

The ground search effort for missing Shannon Lea Dedrick resumed again at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 3, with over 50 search and rescue personnel from Liberty, Gulf and Bay County.

Search efforts included 8 K-9 teams on the ground and helicopter assistance from both Jackson and Calhoun County.  Local residents are urged to remember that helicopters will be in the area late into the evening as part of the continued search effort. 

Sheriff’s Offices from several surrounding counties, Team ADAM, an extension of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI are actively assisting with the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of baby Shannon.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the media for their extraordinary efforts in the dissemination of this information which has led to 100’s of tips nationwide” states Sheriff Boby Haddock.  “We are so grateful for the public’s response to help find baby Shannon and the resources from both neighboring agencies and volunteers in this massive search effort.”

While there have been no significant developments in the case, investigators are working each and every tip that comes in and would ask the community to continue to call 850-638-6111 with any information that may be relevant to this case.

http://www.newsherald.com/news/please-78782-child-chipley.html

Months before 7-month-old girl went missing, worried baby sitter e-mailed Gov. Charlie Crist

By ANDREW GANT / News Herald Writer
CHIPLEY — Months before a 7-month-old girl disappeared from her family’s home, her baby sitter pleaded with the governor to “please, please save that child” from her parents’ alleged pattern of drug use, abuse and “really strange things,” according to an e-mail obtained Tuesday by The News Herald.

In response — on the third day in the search for little Shannon Dedrick — top officials with the state Department of Children and Families told The News Herald they were revisiting the case to see if they missed signs of danger.

“Did we miss anything? Were there any red flags? Should we have been more skeptical over the progress? We’re digging as hard as we can to see if there’s other things that we should’ve been doing,” Peter Digre, DCF’s assistant secretary for operations, said Tuesday night.

“As to whether we were being as smart as we could be, I’m not totally sure yet.”

In an interview Tuesday, Shannon’s baby sitter Susan Baker claimed the little girl’s mother said she wished her daughter “would disappear” weeks before the tiny infant vanished.

Even before that, though, Baker was concerned.

In an August e-mail provided to The News Herald, Baker begged Gov. Charlie Crist’s office to intervene, urgently claiming “that child needs help and no one is helping her.”

“I loved that child,” Baker said of Shannon in an interview Tuesday. “And I don’t know where she’s at. And I’m really sick and tired with all these games that’s being played.

“The only things they can come up with is exactly what they’re saying: ‘I don’t know.’ ”

Baker apparently sent Crist the e-mail Aug. 12, more than two months before Shannon’s disappearance.

The next day, Baker said, she received a call from a Child Protective Services worker who said he would investigate. She said she didn’t hear of any progress after that.

DCF, Digre said, received two reports on the family. The allegations included marijuana use around Shannon and a complaint that she had been shaken.

Doctors found no evidence of the latter, Digre said.

The family entered treatment programs and received help from food stamps and a Women, Infants and Children program. Home visitors checked on progress and DCF stayed in contact with Shannon’s pediatrician, Digre said.

“The reality is, for a number of months, we have had a lot of involvement with this family in many, many ways,” he said.

DCF Secretary George Sheldon said the alleged marijuana use “doesn’t necessarily give us the legal authority to remove a child.”

Today, Digre said, the agency would be poring over records for any signs they might have missed. Those records would become “totally open” if Shannon is found dead, Digre said.

Baker identified the mother as Tina Mercer and her boyfriend as Rusty Dedrick. However, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office – which has released little information about the case – would not confirm those names.

The Sheriff’s Office did acknowledge receipt of a Freedom of Information Act request from The News Herald, which asked for confirmation of names, incident reports taken at the time Shannon was reported missing and a recording of the 911 call.

But there was no response to the request and the Sheriff’s Office neither produced the documents nor cited a statute that would allow investigators to withhold them.

For days, investigators have feared Shannon is hidden in the woods or in one of many trash bins near her family’s trailer on a dirt drive off Brown Street.

Dozens of searchers have labored there, hoping to find clues.

“I know there’s a lot of rumors out there that aren't true,” said sheriff’s spokeswoman Andrea Gainey. “People are talking and spreading them as the gospel, and they are not.”

The Sheriff’s Office has not addressed many of those rumors, and Gainey did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Baker’s claims.

Baker flatly denied any involvement in the baby’s disappearance.

While the puzzling case has drawn attention in major newspapers and on cable television, many details have remained secret.

There is video and a map at the above site. This is the Panama City paper.
I believe it is the HLN video.

I borrowed this from elsewhere   ::MonkeyRoll::

Look up info on Paul Baker
He has been missing since 1987, his stepmoms name is the same as the babysitter in this case, and they moved to Chipley Fla. years ago
 http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/baker_paul.html
 Circumstances of Disappearance
Baker was living with his father and stepmother, James and Susan Baker at the time of his disappearance. They have been arrested in connection with his disappearance. They were charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for allegedly beating him before he vanished March 5, 1987.
Susan Baker told police she put him down for a nap that day and returned to find him missing. Deputies and police searched the area around their home for several days but found no trace of the little boy.
After the disappearance, the couple's 6-year-old daughter was removed by state social workers who discovered broken bones and sores on her body.
Susan Baker was convicted for beating the girl and sentenced to 10 years in prison for assault and battery of a her. http://www.freewebs.com/scmissingunidentified/scmissingchildren.htm

Tillman Lee Shirley, Sr., 69, of Washington County, Florida passed from this life on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 in Port St. Joe, Florida. Mr. Shirley was born on Oct. 30, 1939 in Esto, Florida to Alto (Lee) and Elua I. (Pippin) Shirley. He had resided in Washington County, Florida for the past 25, years, coming from Buford, South Carolina. He was of the Baptist Faith. He was Veteran of the U.S. Army and fought in the Vietnam War. He had a love for playing the guitar in the Country Music Field. Mr. Shirley is survived by his children: Susan Baker, Chipley, Fl., J.W. Shirley, Bonifay, Florida, Tina Yedo, Baker, Florida, Ted Shirley, Westley Chapel, Florida and Donna Shirley, Chipley, Florida. 12 Grandchildren: 2 Great Grandchildren.

http://fosterfollynews.com/news/_obituaries.php


If this is the same Susan Baker (survivor daughter) and this guy lived in Buford, then I would think that yes this is the stepmom of Paul Baker who is missing.

searching1 wrote:
from the link I posted.
family member wrote:
This thread is about the 7 month old girl shannon...I don't know of anyone else there missing...I hope you hear from your daughter soon.
To the comments about them being mentally +++++++...they were not +++++++, they had a different kind of mental deficiency that was much less severe than retardation, and the family down here made every attempt with social services to see if it was possible for custody the baby to be given to someone else here, but they were not of a low enough mental capacity for them to take her away, and social services was supposed to be keeping close tabs on them to make sure she was getting proper care since we are all so far away. We did what we could, and pointing fingers doesn't help anyway. I can only hope none of this is true about what Tina supposedly said and that someone has her safe somewhere.


http://www.newsherald.com/news/person-78739-baby-case.html#slComments

(http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o100/klaasen3/Sub7/susanbakerletter.jpg)

what is that and where is it from please?

Thank you Klaas, all things seem to be pointing to this babysitter Susan Baker also being the babysitter turned step mother of one missing Paul baker, also was convicted of assault and battery on the sister of Paul. Paul has never been found and Susan was released for time served and moved to .... Chipley Fl. where she and hubby were extradited from back to S.C for charges related to Pauls disappearance, charges were dismissed and they returned to Chipley.. That is what I have gathered so far from reading around.

it is from the link I posted right there on the bottom, and its in the comment section, suppose to be a family members comment....

If you mean Tab from topix, well, seems she admitted later that she was not family..

Oh , it may have been helpful if you had gotten my other post from there as well, the one that linked where that post was from. Here, I will get it for you.
User Image     
searching1 wrote:
from the link I posted.
family member wrote:
This thread is about the 7 month old girl shannon...I don't know of anyone else there missing...I hope you hear from your daughter soon.
To the comments about them being mentally +++++++...they were not +++++++, they had a different kind of mental deficiency that was much less severe than retardation, and the family down here made every attempt with social services to see if it was possible for custody the baby to be given to someone else here, but they were not of a low enough mental capacity for them to take her away, and social services was supposed to be keeping close tabs on them to make sure she was getting proper care since we are all so far away. We did what we could, and pointing fingers doesn't help anyway. I can only hope none of this is true about what Tina supposedly said and that someone has her safe somewhere.
11/2/2009 1:37 PM CST on newsherald.com
Recommend
   
Report Abuse
   Permalink
User Image    
searching1 wrote:
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/chipley-fl/TBBMC04K2D553SJ3N/p2
11/2/2009 1:36 PM CST on newsherald.com
Recommend
   
Report Abuse
   Permalink

No I have no idea who Tab, from topix is, this person wrote this entry in the comments section of this link posted.....

No, I pasted a post from topix there, that is why I specifically wrote in the second post after I posted the link quote"from the link I posted." and I just went and looked, it was a post from "family member" made on topix at the link I had posted. There was a Tab posting there on topix too and it turns out she is on the friends list of Susan Baker on ms. She seemed to be spreading rumors about the mother, the rumors LE has been trying to dispel. Given what has been found about 'susan baker' if they are the same, which it seems they are, the one with a missing step son and the baby sitter in this case, It gets my hinky meter going.

http://www2.jcfloridan.com/jcf/news/local/article/no_word_on_missing_infant/106011/
No word on missing infant
Staff Report
Published: November 4, 2009
The baby who disappeared from her home in Chipley Saturday was still missing as of late Tuesday, despite a massive ongoing search for the youngster.
An Amber alert was issued Sunday for seven-month-old Shannon Lea Dedrick.
She was reported missing by her parents around 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Shannon is believed to have disappeared between the hours of 3 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. that day.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Graceville Police Department are assisting other Washington County law enforcement agencies in the search for the baby.
Anyone who has information that could help locate Shannon is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 638-6111.

Thanks Searching.

This monster was babysitting little Shannon??!!!  ::MonkeyNoNo::

And still nothing about the little darling today.

God, it's just so awful.

Searching, have you contacted LE or the media with this information?  If the parents were not working, why would she need a babysitter? And how could they pay a babysitter?

Thats exactly what needs to be done, just in case, sounds like o me the babysitter started talking smack mouths ago, maybe it was all true, or maybe she was just setting up a reason so when this happened she could look innocent instead of guilty..

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/21519621/detail.html
Sitter Warned Of Missing Baby's Parents
7-Month-Old Last Seen On Saturday; Search Continues

POSTED: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
UPDATED: 11:34 am EST November 4, 2009
CHIPLEY, Fla. -- The baby sitter of a missing infant sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist months before she disappeared asking him to save the child from her drug-abusing parents.

The Florida Department of Children and Families said it investigated 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick's mother and father after the August complaint, and workers have had "a lot of involvement" with the family.

But DCF Secretary George Sheldon said investigators did not find legal grounds to take the infant away.

Shannon was last seen by her parents at their home early Saturday morning. Searchers have concentrated on the woods surrounding the home, in a remote part of north Florida near the town of Chipley.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office has released little additional information about the case.

this is the only susan baker listed in that zip code on the email... her household lists james as a member
http://www.whitepages.com/search/FindPerson?firstname_begins_with=1&firstname=susan&name=baker&where=32428

hi guys i'm new to this thread but i.ve been following just not posting...
question as to why susan baker would be in contact with these people...
she is being reported as the babysitter is it possible that the word babysitter was used interchangably with caregiver... tha baby had medical problems and i don't see this family actually paying for daycare especially since no one in the house was working and i also don't see this susan lady working as a sitter for free going by how pissed she was that this family was getting free benefits... just a thought is she maybe a home health aide or something to that effect and thru the mill that turned into baby sitter?

link to paul baker's missing flyer
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=600583&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US

here is anm article that says investigators ARE looking into susan baker being the same as the step mom of missing paul baker
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/child-22268-case-family.html
here is susan's myspace
http://www.myspace.com/purplecolorcat
here is another news source regarding the possible relation...
http://www.newsherald.com/news/span-78790-baker-class.html
and what i find odd is the story goes she was putting paul down for a nap and yet he was last seen wearing his coat and shoes according to his flyer...

Yes SuzieQ, that was all turned over to LE shortly after it was pieced together from what I read. It appears to be that Shannon s babysitter is one in the same as the baby sitter turned step mother of Paul. Scary and sad at the same time. I doubt anyone knew of her previous troubles, if it is the same. They found J Baker on S Bakers friends list on ms also, there was a listing found for J and S Baker also from what I read. It does appear to be the same couple associated with Paul.

http://www.lowcountrynewspapers.net/archive/node/120065


old article pertaining to Paul.

Thanks Penny, yes, Le was contacted yesterday about S Baker as well as the media being contacted.

I just read on a chat that LE and news crews are at the home of S Baker now. Not confirmed yet, but news 7 I think is the one there.

http://www.wjhg.com/

Ok, it appears the person claiming to be a local and stating LE and news crews at S Bakers house has done a vanishing act, so most likely just rumor...

Mrs. Baker just named POI on WJHG and 12:30!  They stated all info that was posted here too.  Thanks Monkeys!  I live here and you guys were quicker!  If I get into trouble I've given instructions to contact y'all! lol

WJHG at 12:30 not and, sorry.

OMG....I can just about bet you that this so called babysitter is responsible for this baby coming up missing and I hope this time she is thrown in jail where she should have been all this time. I think she is a new kind of serial killer, she seems to have a knack for being around children and then bad things happening, I saw on her my space where she said " Ive had my neice all week and it has been a good week"...or something to that effect, my God maybe someone should question that niece to, and who in their right mmind would let her babysit her neice, they have to be kin to her for this child to be her neice and so I would think they would know about the missing child from the past,and the girl that was taken away, some people just dont think, and now with baby shannon.....well her parents probably didnt know about this womans past, but that why you cant trust your child with just anyone......I hope they lock her up this time......she has obviously struck again,  they need to make sure of her where a bouts when any other child has come up missing.......terrible...

HH you gotta remember the type of people we are dealing with.  From what has been stated and how they lived they seem to be of the Cummings/Croslin type.  The whole family I bet has been familiar with the wrong side of the law for a long time.  Even though the parents of baby Shannon don't have a record they weren't exactly waiting for the next PTA meeting kwim?  How dare this woman (if guilty) do something with another child and blame...let's see that is her stepson and mother of child right?

No matter what kind of people we are dealing with, had the babysitter been dealt with long ago this wouldnt be happening now.....and do you think for one second I would allow my child to be kept by someone with a past like this woman has, one child missing, another taken away for abuse, but someone did, she said she had been keeping her neice, my God, there's no telling how many other children she has been around, do we know if she has children of her own???

Forgive me, I thought I saw that Dedrick the man who isn't Shannon's father but signed the birth cert. was related to Ms. Baker.  Got my wired crossed.  I'm at work and shouldn't be lurking but the tv happend to be on with the breaking news of annoucement of POI.  Sorry again.  BBL (tonight)

snipped from above link regarding her relation to paul baker
" Baker had been the boy’s babysitter, and married his father after his divorce. The boy later disappeared."
reminds me of misty croslin... gives a whole new meaning to evil step-mother

the boy was 4 at the time of his disappearance and the daughter that was removed from the home was 6... they clearly refer to her as the stepmother when speaking about the boy but when they speak of the girl they say the couple's daughter... confusing

HH, you never know who you are actually dealing with until you do an extensive background search and not many people will or will pay for it.  We here in Panama City just had a 70 something yo caregiver murder her patient in her 90's because she had stolen all the lady's money and didn't want her to find it out.  She had been charged with manslaughter about 20 years ago and several economic crimes since then.  You can find the story on WJHG too.  Like I said, these people just probably wanted to dump their kid on someone sometimes and saw that she watched other kids and went no further checking her out.  You are absolutely right, had she been in jail where she should've been and maybe on probation still we would still have little Shannon.  Goodness, I gotta go.

My sons family is from the area, his father born and raised in Vernon.......sand hills........and his uncle is a reverand there in Panama City, and Im glad I never came across this lady on my visits there......pure evil is what she is..

we got your back... but please don't go missing we're a little bogged down already...
o/t but is it wrong of me to be insanely pissed that this missing college girl named morgan's reward is at 150K and haleigh still flipflops between 35k and 70k 9 months later!!!!!!!!!!
not even sure if there is any reward for this poor missing baby...

Yea, that pisses me off too, Haleigh should be just as important and so should this baby Shannon, but I think  this baby will be found soon, or at the very least this so-called babysitter is gonna be arrested, and if she is the one that done something with that missing boy all those years ago, well then, I just hope she made a mistake this time or elase if she isnt willing to talk and no one else saw her, then baby Shannon may never be found either,,,,,,,,,I hope they hang her if she is to blame....

I agree, the rewards should be up there for all of them. I am also angry because this monster should have never ever been walking the streets. She was given credit for time served in jail and released instead of doing her 10 yrs.. Maybe had she done her 10, she would have stayed away from children... also, why do I sit and wonder how many other children went missing after she baby sat them?

snipped from susan's myspace status updates BOLD BY ME just some posts that stuck out in my mind and anyone can view them and feel free to draw your own conclusions here they are
http://friends.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.friendmoods&friendId=394198094
----------------------------------------------------------------
 ** Sue**We are going to go camping this weekend. All yall have a good weekend. Crap now we cant go camping. My sister concelled on me. So I guess we will be here.
Mood:blessed
Posted at 10:37 AM Sep 18

I WANT COPS TO CHECK WHERE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO CAMPING

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 ** Sue**Has her two grandneices. They are laying down for a nap. It's raining.
Mood:blessed
Posted at 3:07 PM Aug 14

IT MAKES ME SICK THAT HER FAMILY MEMBERS EVEN LET THEIR KIDS NEAR HER
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHE CAMPS OFTEN


** Sue**Got home last night. Had a great time.
Mood:blessed
Posted at 11:22 AM Aug 10
commentmessage
Add comment...
Submit

    *
      ~ Flip Flop ~
      ~ Flip Flop ~ Posted at 12:02 PM Aug 10
      thats nice
    *
      ** Sue**
      ** Sue** Posted at 11:42 AM Aug 10
      Camping.And we went canoeing.

3 comments total show more hide all show
-------------------------------------------------------------

 ** Sue**I have a Dr appt in PC tomarrow.
Mood:blessed
Posted at 1:24 AM Jul 25

I HOPE PC DOES NOT STAND FOR PUTNAM COUNTY CUZ THAT PLACE HAS ENOUGH DANGEROUS STEPMOM"S
----------------------------------------------------------------------

SHE DRIVES A VAN (i read something about a gray van in regards to this case)

** Sue**its so hot here. I clean out and washed my van. Now I need to go into town.
Mood:blessed
Posted at 11:30 AM Jun 22
commentmessage

----------------------------------------------------------------------
WHERE IS DESTIN?


** Sue**Had come home to feed and water my critters. But we are going back to destin.
Mood:blessed
Posted at 7:22 AM Jun 17
commentmessage

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SHE BABYSITS INFANTS

 ** Sue**Is at home, just got back from babysitting. I am a proud great Aunt. Jaden Morgan Bailey Shirley was born last night.
Mood:over the moon
Posted at 5:01 PM May 30

---------------------------------------------------------------------
HER DAD DIED IN APRIL
** Sue**
** Sue** Is in Dade City and have barried my father. Now we are at my brother and they are grilling. All my neices & nephews are here.Posted at 11:59 AM Apr 25
Mood:blessed

-----------------------------------------------------------------
SHE OWNS A CANOE
** Sue**
** Sue** is home - went and bought a canoe - Posted at 9:47 PM Apr 10
Mood:happy
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SHE POSTS ABOUT HER AUNTS HOUSE BURNING DOWN AND HER DAD YING IN HIS SLEEP ALL IN THE SAME DAY AND AT TIMES SHE IS NOT USUALLY ON MYSPACE>>> WEIRD

** Sue** My father passed a way at 4:00 am this morning. He passed in his sleep - Please Pray for me. This is hard.......Posted at 5:24 AM Apr 1
Mood:Sad
commentmessage
** Sue**
** Sue**  - My aunt house burn down yesterday - my neice and her family was living with her. They lost everything. My neice has a handicape 3 yr old son.Posted at 2:46 AM Apr 1
Mood:very worried
------------------------------------------------------------------

Thats exactly what I said, and really she didnt even have to babysit them, since Shannon came up missing from her own home, she could have just been familar with them and their routines,,,,,,,,,I hope they look into everyone of them that she might have been around........I hope she has never been to Satsuma, maybe we should check to see if she knows anyone there or is kin to someone...

See......penny.......she has been all around the area, Destin.....OMG....and she goes canoeing.....and like you said .....these people continued to let her babysit and be around all these kids......and you see how often she mantions ner neices and babysitting and stuff like that...weird........she needs some checking into......thats for sure.

i totally agree about she shoul not have been let out but from what i understand she was in jail from 1987-2000 at which point she was sentenced to time serve ... i could be wrong or mis-reading but that is over 10 years... should have locked her up and taken the key tho

Penny, the grey van mentioned was her van. That is what kicked all this off. she was interviewed due to her van being mentioned and bam, it all unfolded.

no Penny, because in 2000 IIRC she was extradited from Chipley on charges related to Paul. so she did not do much time at all.

her niece has a handi-capped 3 yr old son... strange tome that this baby was also handicapped maybe that was her get in line ... my nephew has disabilities i am very familiar with caring for disabled children...
she makes me frickin sick... best case scenario for her is she was an accomplice to her step son's disappearance although i have a feeling she did more then that to him

yeah i read it quick so i was not sure how it played out just stuck out tome that in 2000 she was sentenced to time served

they were extradited in 2000 and received prison time for te abuse of the daughter... then it was reduced to time served according to this link
http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/69090642.html
so what no time served for the missing boy?

Penny I think Destin is between Panama City and Pensicola. I have been there but it has been a while.

http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/

BREAKING NEWS: Update: Officers Surrounding Home of Reported Babysitter of Missing Infant

News 13 has learned that Beaufort County is sending an investigator to assist in the case of missing baby Shannon.

Read more: http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/#ixzz0VvIaF2Gs

sick part is she seems to love kids (in her mind at least) and my hunch would be she would not just dispose of paul who she also babysat before she became his step mother...she claims to love shannon in her email also... it is my hunch that she would want some sort of a gravesite to visit for these babies and she is some sort of a sick munchausing <---- spelled wrong
nut case... i would think she would put them in plain site so tospeak in a place that she could visit regularly without drawing attention to the fact that she was there....
for some reason my gut is telling me that the cops need to search that campground and water around it maybe even a small island in the water

notice she said she "LOVED" Shannon. past tense, I caught that as soon as I read it and my heart sank.

good as this sick bich (spelled wrong so i don't get slapped by the mods lol)is a creature of habit ... i hope it helps and i hope i am right about having the bodies together somewhere as i would like to see paul found as well...
my gut is telling me she keeps them close somehow

OMG.  I have seen this woman, I will have to do more research into just who she is where she is originally from but I think she has family somewhere around here......and also I would like to know if her husband is still with her and what kind of sentence did he have to serve if any......have they ever  seen the daughter again, is she still in the custody of DCF or what.....I need to learn some more stuff about this woman..

but Paul  came up missinf in another county, so I doubt she had the baby Shannon anywhere around wherever it is that they put baby Paul.......I hope they hurry and get to the bottom of this, there's no telling what all is gonna be found out about all this.

well i think she camps in destin

i know he went missing in a different area but it seems to me that she camps on a regular basis maybe has a campground that she rents yearly... they may not be in the same spot but i do think she gave them both a burial... she says she is a follower of a strong god or something to that effect and seemed excited to be burying her fathers ashes she also makes the statement that when her father died then so ended the circle of life as she knows it ashes to ashes dust to dust... she stikes me as one of those sickos who think that killing the kids is gods plan for them and that hey are in a better place not just someone who kills in rage or anything...
JMO but i really do think she gave them a grave and whether they are together or not i don't know but i bet they are somewhere in a serene setting... again JMO

Paul went missing in SC, and I read that the daughter was in the custody of the maternal grandmother. She would be grown if Paul would be 19 now.

OK,  I have now found out that the 10 year old girl that was taken away from Sue and Paul was Pauls child by a different marriage, the childs name was Nina and she was placed in the care of her Maternal Grandmother after being taken out of the household.......therefore we know that Susan has no children of her own, or at least none that we I can find out about,,so yea, this is very suspitious, this woman is nots and had no business ever seeing the light of day again....much less babysitting someones child......I believe when everything is investigated we are gonna find out that she is a suspect in more then just baby Shannon..

paul would be 26 now he was turning 4 in 1987 there is a current age composite on his missing flyer link i posted a couple pages back

yes and Nina was I believe 6 when removed from the home due to broken bones etc..

I see what you r saying, and I think she probably burried them somewhere nice too, the place that paul dissapeared from os a long way from Destin Florida, and I wonder if LE has found out whether Susan has left town since Shannon came up missing, otherwise, this baby has to be somewhere, and maybe when they search her properety they will find her somewhere there, maybe Susan was gonna take her somewhere else eventually but hasnt had the chance................the only thing I disagree about is that she loved these children,,,,,,,,not with the way she abused the 10 year old girl.....broken bones and sores all over her....and she wasnt disable at all.....so I think this Susan Lady is just a nutcase and it could be that it all leads back to the fact that she has no children of her own........JMO

I believe she was 10..

here is a map of locations she has been to by her own admission
red with dot is where paul was missing from beufort county south carolina
purple with dot is where she lives now in chipley florida
blue is destin florida where she has vacationed/camped in june of this year
yellow is dothan alabama where she went march of this year
green is dade city florida where she buried her dad at her granny's grave (possibly familiar with the area)

yeah she is def a nutjob and the abuse could be spare the rod spoil the child as she serves a great and mighty god....

Well, she has been all over Florida and also close to Orlando and thats close to Putnam.......dang I hope they look into every person she knew that may have had a child or a crime committed on a child within the areas.......this woman is completely nuts....imo

She was only 6 HH, Nina was 6. and I think people are referring to her words.. She said in an interview she "loved" Shannon..... when you look at it,put the letter to beg for help "saving" Shannon and everything else, she had accused the bio mom in the cases of Nina and Paul, looking at a mentally ill person, she "THINKS" she is "SAVING" these children out of love. That I think is what this will boil down to

Saving which children out of Love........baby Shannon is the only child that she had said that about.......Paul and Nina lived with her and so what was she saving them from...?????     I think she just spewed all this out about the parents of Shannon to give LE something to look at when she decided to take Shannon and do whatever she did to her,,,,,,she was just trying to cover her own butt with these statements and throw suspention on someone else....

Their real mother maybe HH???? saving them from their real mother...

http://www.newsherald.com/news/span-78790-baker-class.html

BREAKING UPDATES: Deputies block entrance at baby sitter's home
November 04, 2009 10:12:00 AM
By ANDREW GANT / News Herald Writer
CHIPLEY — Authorities confirmed Wednesday they were investigating connections between a 22-year-old missing child case in South Carolina and the recent disappearance of 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick from her family's trailer near the woods.

snipped

i believe she was 6 hh and her last name would either be baker, solorzano, or something else entirely if married
we are talking about a now 29 plus year old woman who was probably a wittness to what happened to her little brother
also the dad james baker was released frommilitary service in 1999 and yes susan is still married to him

 Authorities confirmed Wednesday they are investigating connections between a 22-year-old missing child case in Beaufort and the recent disappearance of 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick from her family's trailer near the woods in Chipley, Fla., according to news reports.

On the fourth day of the search for Shannon, sheriff's deputies were at the home of baby sitter and former Beaufort resident Susan Baker, who on Tuesday told The News Herald newspaper of Panama City, Fla., that she "loved that child" and tried to have the state intervene with the family. Baker also supplied an e-mail she sent to Gov. Charlie Crist pleading that someone help Shannon, whom she said was being abused by her parents.

Baker was implicated in a 1987 missing-child case in Beaufort that involved her stepson, then-3-year-old Paul Baker, who has never been found.

A woman who said she was Baker's niece confirmed to the News Herald that she was the same woman accused in the 1987 disappearance. But that arrest, according to niece Tabatha Phillips, was "on a technicality" and Baker was innocent.

Baker was convicted of abusing the child and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assault and battery. Her sentence was suspended for time served.

Washington County sheriff's investigators were working on that connection Wednesday. Around 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, two deputies from Holmes and Jackson counties were at the gate to the Bakers' property, the News-Herald reported. The home was not visible, sitting down a long path and blocked by a hill.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Andrea Gainey could not confirm if deputies were descending on the home. Baker, who was in contact with the News Herald multiple times Tuesday night, could not be reached multiple times Wednesday.
nvestigators were in briefings Wednesday morning. Gainey said Baker was one of hundreds interviewed, that the Sheriff's Office was aware of the similarities in Dedrick's disappearance and the 1987 case, and that the person of interest still was not public information.
http://www.islandpacket.com/front/story/1023443.html

http://www.newsherald.com/news/span-78790-baker-class.html
"Susan Baker told police she put him down for a nap that day and returned to find him missing. Deputies and police searched the area around their home for several days but found no trace of the little boy.

"After the disappearance, the couple's 6-year-old daughter was removed by state social workers who discovered broken bones and sores on her body.

http://missing87975.yuku.com/topic/2946

Well, they had been given full custody of the 2 children so I dont buy that one........anyway...I think the fact that she has no children of her own is the real reason she did this, like jealousy,  that or either she just doesnt like kids but want s to act like she does so she can have access to them and then do Lord only knows what to them while they are in her care....moo

Yea, this is really wierd for this Man to continue to stay with this woman through all of this and against his childrens well being...........and Yea....I went back and read that the girl was only 6, the first article I read had mixed up about the 10 years she had gotten for abuse and the age os the child

okay so is it safe to assume that this TAB person is tabatha the niece of susan....
same exact statement about wishing the baby would disappear as in susan's email
she claims lineage to the baby which i have not heard confirmed by anyone official so is susan telling people that shannon was her niece?
tab says rusty is the aunts brother is tabatha related on the james baker side is that why she believed relation possible...
tab admits to holding shannon a couple days ago so that means that susan was still an active babysitter for shannon IMO

you are correct on all points Penny

yeah i figured that was why you thought 10...
military dad deep south stepmom (assuming that based on her granny and dad lived in dade) very old school religious
he may have believed her about him missing... maybe she killed paul to save him from the ass whippings that military dad dished out to nina.... who knows
but the fact that he got custody because he was better suited financially and low and behold one kid goes missing under step moms watch is too much like the haleigh case for my liking ... glad ron ditched that bish sorry for o/t

You know,, I really think the abise was coming from Susan the whole time.....did the ex wife mention anything about Paul Sr.  being abusive towards the children when they were together/????   If not then this is all clearly coming from Susan.......and she is the nut and should have never been allowed out on the streets and certainly never around any other children......Authorities should talk to these neices that she has been babysitting too.....IMO

hey tabatha if you are reading here you should get your kid/kids checked i noticed alot of comments between you and aunty dearest about sick children and hoping that they feel better around the times you let susan watch them... not trying to be an a hole but they may have been being poisoned over time... it is weird how your aunt refers to your daughter as her blessing... just saying

I second that one.......no telling what these children has had to endure in the care of this nut case.....WTH was their Mother thinking........I hope they have her butt in custody by now!!!

well i have not heard either way what was said by the bio mother as i have not read the custody transcripts and it could be that susan comes off as a perfect mommy/housewife when he is around
or it could be that the bio mom was too scared of the ex to say anything
or maybe she was like crystal sheffield and did say something but the judge said yeah well you have no job so see ya later ... plus bio mom was pregnant with the new boyfriends baby at the time of custody and before the divorce was even finalized so maybe the judge just thought she was a lying slut... who knows
but this lady's husband is not guilt free in my book

in tabatha's defense she was only recently rekindled with good old aunty so who knows... her parents are divorced and it sounds like the relation may be on the dads side and maybe to james ... according to her she was charged with abuse on a technicality... if she had the husband fooled as you seem to think then it is possible that she had the distant niece fooled

Oh No I wasnt implying that he was guilt free....he is guilty at the very least of putting these chuldren in harms way and at the most by probably joining in on the abuse........but from the statement I read from the real Mother, I just didnt see her say anything about him being abusive towards the children.......just dont know,  but I still think this Susan is the instigator.....IMO

Yep....more then likely, she did......wonder how she exsplained the stepdaughter injuries and still kept herself blame free???

and this is a small pic but it is of susan's bird and in the background check out the wall with all the pics... the kind where a bunch of little pics go in one frame ... you know the kind that you usually put school pics in ...YET SHE HAS NO KIDS

oops forgot the link and forgot to say that this better not be a friggin trophy wall for her serial killing ass

and this is a small pic but it is of susan's bird and in the background check out the wall with all the pics... the kind where a bunch of little pics go in one frame ... you know the kind that you usually put school pics in ...YET SHE HAS NO KIDS

oops forgot the link and forgot to say that this better not be a friggin trophy wall for her serial killing ass
wow am i off today here it is for real this time

Penny, this site has the details of what little Nina went thru as well as some of what transpired..

here is the DCF report from the calls that we are sure SB and Tab made to DCF on Tina

http://video.onset.freedom.com/newsherald/ksloqc-dedrickreviewredacted.pdf

Tabatha's Twitter
http://twitter.com/sieric

Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/sieric3

LOL.......oh my God I hope not........thats crazy....he has no kids of her own.....mostly because she got rid of them......but then she wants to display all these kids pictures like she is Mother of the year.......hang her high!!!!!!

Found this.....

TAB was all over the internet all weekend and last nite admitted all the carp she was putting out there came from SB.

If SB is involved, as usual she is responsible for her own undoing...


Phillips wrote Wednesday morning on her Twitter page that she "knows the POI is the one who cared the most."

Later, in a phone interview, she said, "Susan would not hurt a child."

"That's the only reason they're putting her as a person of interest now is because of all of that crap that happened way back when," Phillips said.

"They need to start asking (the mother) where the child is," she said. "She's the one that put it somewhere."

and this.....
"Posted By: sieric Monday Nov 2nd, 06:35:09 AM
I know the mother had something to do with this! I personally know the baby, and the mother never wanted her from the start! She has confessed! Why is she not in jail!?"

http://fosterfollynews.com/comments....=2&story=10362

But then again, TP goes on to say on Topix I believe that she didn't really know Shannon.

thanks searching ..
this is long and not about shannon but rather paul however it shows great insight into what this couple was capable of and there is no way you can say that james didn't know.this was written in 2000 and bold and italics were done by me
Missing Paul

BEAUFORT: 13 years after he vanished, mother hasn't given up hope of finding out what happened to her son.


By Stephanie Broadbent
Carolina Morning News

There was a time when Lynda Solorzano trusted her baby sitter to watch over her young children.

But that was before her husband said he wanted a divorce. Before he married the baby sitter and won custody of Solorzano's daughter and son. Before the new stepmother beat the girl severely enough to put her in a hospital.

Before Solorzano's son disappeared without a trace.

Now the former Cherry Point woman wants answers from her ex-husband and the woman he married. She wants to know if her first-born son died 13 years ago and why her daughter was abused by the woman who was supposed to protect her.

"Not knowing is worse than knowing," said Solarzano, who now lives in Durham, N.C., with her second son. "Let me put my baby to rest. Let me have a memorial, someplace to go. I have dreams at night where he's lost in the dark and can't find his way home and I can't find him."

Solarzano's first son, Paul Baker, disappeared March 5, 1987, while living with his father and stepmother in a Beaufort home. He was 3 years old and hasn't been seen since.

James and Susan Baker, now 41, of Chipley, Fla., were recently charged in the case and returned to Beaufort to face charges of beating the boy before he vanished.

Both remain lodged at the Beaufort County Detention Center in lieu of $75,000 cash bonds while Beaufort County investigators delve into the case with new leads. Neither could be reached at the jail for comment Thursday.

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner won't discuss details of the arrests, but said the investigation may shed new light on what happened to the little boy searchers couldn't find.

The arrests also provide hope for answers for Solarzano and her 19-year-old daughter, Nina Baker, who was removed from her father's home after her brother disappeared and her stepmother beat her and broke her bones.

She was 6 years old when Paul disappeared, but while the physical scars have faded, the emotional ones still hurt.

It isn't the future Solarzano imagined when she met her husband at a North Carolina roller rink two decades ago.

New love

The skating rink was crowded, but one boy stood out.

His speed, spins and jumps impressed 15-year-old Lynda enough that she asked him to skate with her during the Sadie Hawkins number.

It was love at first sight, she said, but Lynda couldn't date until her 16th birthday, so 19-year-old James Baker started meeting her at church. A year later, her father allowed them to double-date with other couples and when she turned 17 they were allowed to venture out alone.

"I was getting ready to graduate high school and he said he wanted to get married," she remembered. Despite her father's opposition, Linda said yes.

A year later, she gave birth to Nina and James Baker joined the U.S. Marine Corps. But when he got back from basic training, the boy she'd loved was a man she didn't know.

"He came out different, colder," Solarzano said. "When I got pregnant with Paul, he said I was holding him back in his career."... could be the reason that susan never had her own kids

Stationed in Beaufort, things were fine for awhile. James Baker was an avionics technician and his future looked bright. But Solarzano's luck was taking a turn for the worse.

New woman

Solarzano had a part-time job but needed someone to look after Nina and Paul.

One of James Baker's friends had a sister, who he said was good with children. Susan lived nearby and seemed to be the obvious choice.

"She was my baby sitter," Solarzano said. "But what I didn't know was she was baby-sitting my husband too."

Solarzano said she found about the alleged affair, which caused her marriage to crumble. She took the children and moved out but claims her husband didn't pay child support. She had very little money and couldn't afford a lawyer.

It was a long separation, and she eventually met someone else, she said. Before the divorce was final, she was pregnant with her boyfriend's child.

"I don't believe in abortion, so I went to court pregnant," she said. "I lost on adultery. I was separated, pregnant and on welfare. He had a house and was in the Corps."

Although she wanted 6-year-old Nina and 3-year-old Paul, Solarzano said the judge sided with her husband.

She vowed to try to get them back within a year, but only nine months later her son was gone and she'd have to fight the state to return her daughter after they took the battered girl from her father's home.

Paul Baker

Like so many toddlers, Paul loved his big sister and followed her wherever she went.

That's why Solarzano can't believe that he wandered away from home on his own. Searchers were called to the Bakers' home March 5, 1987, after his stepmother, Susan Baker, told police she put Paul down for a nap and returned to his room to find him missing.

Deputies and volunteers scoured the area for days but no trace of Paul was ever found.

What social workers did find were sores on his sister's body and broken bones in her hand that hadn't healed. Her stepmother was arrested and convicted for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but a judge suspended the sentence to time she'd served in jail before trial.

Meanwhile, Solarzano was fighting for custody of her daughter again. The state wanted to put her up for adoption but her mother and grandmother were determined to get her back, Solarzano said.

At first her mother was only allowed short visits and what she saw shocked her, she said.

"She had whole patches of hair that had been pulled out by the roots and it grew back white," Solarzano said. "There were open sores on her back, probably from burns. She still has scars on her back and hands."

open soars on the back and broken hands that wouldn't heal indicates repetition of breaking and coupled together these are identical to old school religious style hand beatings and whippings

After spending more than $10,000 in lawyer fees, Nina was given to Solarzano's mother, where she lived until her mother could care for her alone.

For years, Nina had no contact with her father or stepmother. The couple moved to Florida after James Baker left military service and for years there was only silence.

At times, his daughter didn't even know where he lived, Solarzano said.

"She's always asked me questions about him, but she wanted answers from him," Solarzano said.

Nina recently contacted her father in hopes of resolving mixed emotions, her mother said.

Nina wants to know what happened and why. She's 19, works in retail as a shift manager and is going to college. She's adjusted well, but still needs closure, Solarzano said.

Solarzano's youngest son also wants to know about the brother he never met. He recently found a computer generated photograph from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children of what Paul might look like at age 16.

It was a photo his mother had never seen until she came from work to find it on her computer screen saver.

"I asked who that boy is and he told me Paul," she said, crying. "It's too much. It still hurts too much."

Solarzano still hopes to meet the 16-year-old boy in the photograph, but doubts it will happen. She holds out hope that her son is still alive, but won't believe it without proof.

In the meantime, she's still pressing authorities to find out what happened to her boy and hopes her husband will tell them if there's anything else he knows.

"I just hope someone will touch his heart," she said. "We've been waiting 13 years. Paul hasn't been forgotten."

Reporter Stephanie Broadbent can be reached at 837-5255, ext. 110, or at stephanie@lowcountrynow.com

so whowants to call dcf on tabatha for leaving her kids with a person found guilty of aggravated assault on a child?

sarah phillips found on susan's friends list
assuming it is the other niece that she rekindled with recently probably sister to tabatha also an avid canoe person

yikes i did it again ::MonkeyShocked::
http://www.myspace.com/saraphilips10

susan's sister lisa
http://www.myspace.com/175866666
lisa's daughter (susan's niece)
http://www.myspace.com/ilovemoeforever

If you need anything else, come post in the thread in my signature line and I'll see it fairly quickly.

Sorry if this is a repeat post....you have to remember that I am slow, lol.


Missing Fla. baby's parents were investigated
ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 4, 2009

 CHIPLEY — The baby sitter of a missing infant sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist months before she disappeared asking him to save the child from her drug-abusing parents.

The Florida Department of Children and Families says it investigated 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick’s mother and father after the August complaint, and workers have had “a lot of involvement” with the family.

But DCF Secretary George Sheldon says investigators did not find legal grounds to take the infant away.

Shannon was last seen by her parents at their home early Saturday morning. Searchers have concentrated on the woods surrounding the home, in a remote part of North Florida near the town of Chipley.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has released little additional information about the case.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091104/BREAKINGNEWS/91104018/1086/rss07

 I had seen this article posted before Nut, but  it's good that you've posted it again for those that may have missed it the first time.  When an article has important information like this one has, it bears repeating, imo.  And if you are "slow", it's because you keep your truck in 4 wheel drive.  Speed isn't everything,  especially when you're off-roading.   ::MonkeyCool::

Florida Department of Law Enforcement is taking tire prints on a gray Toyota Sienna at the Washington County Sheriff's Office. They will not say if this is related to case. Neighbors say they saw gray van at Shannon's house Saturday morning.

This afternoon deputies from Washington, Holmes, and Jackson blocked the entrance to the Baker's driveway.

FDLE has taken over investigation of Shannon's disappearance.


*Info from WMBB Channel 13 in Panama City*
__________________
From WS

   I assume the van they r talking about belongs to Susan......If she had something to do with baby shannon being gone, I hope they get her good this time.....its about time she has to suffer for   whatever happened to that poor child Paul all those years ago.......hope we  hear more news soon...

I have a feeling, since the SC investigators are assisting, they will make sure she does not slip thru this time as she seems to have with Paul.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_MISSING_FLORIDA_BABY_SCOL-?SITE=SCGRI&SECTION=state&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

SC news has the story too... Imagine how Paul's bio mom must feel right now..

I bet Ms. Susan Baker is wishing she had kept her mouth shut and never met baby Shannon!  Don't know about my birth state of South Carolina but here in FL we've got the death penalty.  She picked the wrong state to get convicted in if found guilty! ::Baseball:: 

your right and it couldnt happen soon enough, she has already  lived alot of years on borrowed time, and since she culdnt even be thankful; for that and just stay out of trouble and leave children alone she deserves whatever she gets..

It's called Karma and I do hope my gut is right and they will make sure she does not slip thru the cracks this time

Good Evening Sweet Monkey's..

I have a question to ask... How did Susan Baker meet Shannon's parents?
I check the map where Baker lives and its not walking distance to where the parents lived..

wow! this story is a shocker....so, this Susan wrote to the Governor about Shannon's parents and neglect...meanwhile, she had beaten her little 6 yr old step daughter ::MonkeyTears:: and her 3 yr old step son disappears....my oh my! You can't make this stuff up folks...so now this Susan has put herself front and center into Shannon's disappearance if I am gathering all of this info correctly...and did I read correctly that Susan and her husband are back in jail for the disappearance of the step son? or was that an arrest from years ago?

Search...weren't you the monkey who found out about this Susan? I am trying to get caught up on this thread...if so, good work!

(http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt126/jerseygirl12345/3395orangeHill2.jpg)

The road leading to the home..

(http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt126/jerseygirl12345/3395orangeHill.jpg)

 Name/AKAs Phone Address City, State Possible Relatives   
1.  BAKER, SUSAN ELIZABETH (Age 50)
 Available(1) Available
CHIPLEY, FL
DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, FL
BEAUFORT, SC
LAUREL BAY, SC Possible Relatives:

BAKER, JAMES A (Age 51)

Possible Roommates / Associates:

LINDAHL, DEBORAH A (Age 41)
LINDAHL, GARY L (Age 42)
 
http://www.veromi.net/Summary.asp?fn=Susan&mn=&ln=baker&dobmm=&dobdd=&doby=&city=Chipley&state=FL&age=&vw=&Search=&Input=&x=66&y=13

well if this tabatha is to be believed then the story goes...
rusty aka russell the father listed on the birth cert of shannon (who is supposedly not the actual dad)
is the mother's live in boyfriend
also this rusty is supposedly susan's brother
none of that has been confirmed tho

Good Evening Monkeys and Guest!

Melisb... We have the death penalty in SC still!

you are correct on everything except them being in jail right now
when they were extradited back to sc in 2000 they were found guilty on the abuse of the daughter charges but their time was reduced from 10 years to time served and their bail was 75k not sure how long they were incarcerated and as far as i can tell it was only susan that was charged. there was a grand jury at some point in regards to the boy but no indictment
we need heart or brandi to pull those arrest docs tho because it is confusing and as far as i can see they haven't been charged with the boys disappearance as of yet

I think the news article that searching posted from S.C. said she only served 90 days. Unbelievable! People get more time for abusing animals.

Thanks.. Now where does Tabatha come in on this...

Caught wind of her name being associated with Paul and a bunch of us ran with it from then. was really fast and chaotic and am running on just a few hours sleep if even...

supposedly SB is Tabs aunt.all her stories (Tabs) are there..


http://www.topix.com/forum/city/chipley-fl/TBBMC04K2D553SJ3N/p11

she is susans niece that has been posting up a storm on blogs about how she knows it was shannons mother yadda yadda and her aunt would never hurt a child and lets her aunt susan babysit her kids and well you will have to see the next blog post done by klaas to get the full picture

this one is tabatha JERZ

SEARCHING,won't blow her own horn, but I am pretty sure she did. She is one of the best sleuthing minds on the threads.  ::MonkeyKiss::

susan baker does in fact have a niece named tabatha that is a fact... and we drew the conclusion that tab was her because of posts matching what the email susan sent to the gov said

Thanks Searching...

Penny, I say supposedly because of a post by Tab... 
Tab -#71
"Whatever! This will be my last post, I was ASKED by others what I knew and heard! I was letting everyone know, and you don't know me, so don't judge me! Sick, my aunt is a step child married in, rusty is her adopted brother so NO I am not family you jackass! But I did know Shannon and I just want what is best for Shannon! It is hard not to blame the mother, look at the EVIDENCE they do have THANK YOU!"
Tab -#77
"NO NIECEE, She is not my sister! My aunt is only my "called aunt" she was my grandfathers step brothers daughter! Really no realation! Like I said, I was just trying to help, but instead of focusing on ME so much, what about the baby?"

Welcome JG.. There are other links I have posted as well if you need to go back for info... What was done to little Nina was terrible so I can imagine what was done to Paul. and possibly baby Shannon

Wow!  That is all I can say.  Baby Shannon appeared to be in a pretty desparate situation.  I still am so hoping somebody has hidden her and she is ok.  Good job Searching!  The niece Tabitha sounds like she should get checked out, her twitters don't sound good.  Lots of headaches and stuff could be pisoning.  Not good at all.  And I can't believe she would be out here posting crap knowing what her Aunt or Step Aunt was guilty of yrs ago.  She should of been quiet and observing to tell LE. 

If it turns out to be this Susan Baker aka "Babysitter" that's pretty evil stuff.  I will hold out hope that she is trying to redeem herself for poor little Paul and hiding Shannon.  This lady needs to be put away if she did this, put away for good.  I can't believe she was not put away yrs ago for what she did to Paul's sister. 

Oh and Hey Sis, hope you are ok. I am all over the place getting info as it comes but wanted you to know I did see you.. ::MonkeyKiss::

I dont know if the age was posted of Cystina..

 MERCER, CRYSTINA LYNN (Age 25)
 Available(1) Available
 CHIPLEY, FL

Now I'm wondering about the part where Tabatha says her Aunt Susan told her that Rusty told her IRRC that Tina said she put Shannon in the woods and covered her with leaves.  Did she really hear that or what? 

Thanks checking the links out...Its unthinkable how Susan did not to jail time except for 80 days... Unbelieveable.. A child missing and another  child abused...

May have already been posted:

http://fosterfollynews.com/news/2009Nov1MissingChild.php

(http://fosterfollynews.com/news/images/missing-dedrick.jpg)


$10,000 Reward Offered in Missing Baby Case (UPDATE)
Investigation broadening.
Wednesday November 4th, 2009

 

I know this is a repost but I can't help myself ::MonkeyCool::

http://www.chipleypaper.com/news/chipley-4637-investigators-breaking.html


BREAKING NEWS: Investigators explore new twists in Chipley missing child case
2009-11-04 12:27:52

CHIPLEY — Authorities confirmed Wednesday they were investigating whether a 26-year-old missing child case in South Carolina is related to the disappearance of 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick from her family's trailer near the woods.

On the fourth day of the search for her, the investigation continued to include baby sitter Susan Baker, who said Tuesday in a News Herald interview she "loved that child" and tried to have the state intervene with the family. Baker also supplied an e-mail she sent to Gov. Charlie Crist pleading that someone help Shannon, whom she said was being abused by her parents.

Washington County sheriff's investigators are now working to determine whether she was the same Susan Baker implicated in a 1987 missing-child case in Beaufort, S.C. That child, then-6-year-old Paul Baker, never has been found.

A woman who said she was Susan Baker's niece confirmed she was the same woman. But that arrest, according to niece Tabatha Phillips, was "on a technicality" and Baker was innocent.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided this synopsis of the 1987 case:

"(Paul) Baker was living with his father and stepmother, James and Susan Baker at the time of his disappearance. They have been arrested in connection with his disappearance. They were charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for allegedly beating him before he vanished March 5, 1987.

"Susan Baker told police she put him down for a nap that day and returned to find him missing. Deputies and police searched the area around their home for several days but found no trace of the little boy.

"After the disappearance, the couple's 6-year-old daughter was removed by state social workers who discovered broken bones and sores on her body.

"Susan Baker was convicted for beating the girl and sentenced to 10 years in prison for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Paul has never been found."

Investigators were in briefings Wednesday morning. Spokeswoman Andrea Gainey said Baker was one of hundreds interviewed, that the Sheriff's Office was aware of the similarities in Dedrick's disappearance and the 1987 case, and that the person of interest still was not public information.

Phillips wrote Wednesday morning on her Twitter page that she "knows the POI is the one who cared the most."

Later, in a phone interview, she said, "Susan would not hurt a child."

"That's the only reason they're putting her as a person of interest now is because of all of that crap that happened way back when," Phillips said.

"They need to start asking (the mother) where the child is," she said. "She's the one that put it somewhere."

Washington County court records show a 2004 case labeled "67-04-DR-177/FIN JUD OF MARRIAGE" between a Susan and James Baker. Court records also show a mortgage for Susan and James Baker for a piece of property at 3395 Orange Hill Road, the same address cited in the e-mail to Crist.

Baker did not immediately return a phone messages.

A sheriff's investigator in Beaufort, S.C., briefly returned a phone call on the cold case but hung up soon after, saying he was in a meeting.

lmfao searching i just read thru all the TAB posts and wow either she was blind sigted by her twice removed hlf brothers baby mama or she was in on the setting upof the mother along side with susan...
and how about that other niece that had no clue shannon even existed because rusty is the dad but not really omg my head hurts and even tho he was rude sick was right on the money... jeez that was info overload

http://www.chipleypaper.com/news/baby-4638-home-missing.html


Deputies block entrance at baby sitter's home: Missing Baby UPDATE
2009-11-04 18:48:40

CHIPLEY — Authorities confirmed Wednesday they were investigating connections between a 22-year-old missing child case in South Carolina and the recent disappearance of 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick from her family's trailer near the woods.

On the fourth day of the search for Shannon, sheriff's deputies were at the home of baby sitter Susan Baker, who said Tuesday in a News Herald interview she "loved that child" and tried to have the state intervene with the family. Baker also supplied an e-mail she sent to Gov. Charlie Crist pleading that someone help Shannon, whom she said was being abused by her parents.

It appeared she is the same Susan Baker implicated in a 1987 missing-child case in Beaufort, S.C. That child, then-3-year-old Paul Baker, never has been found.

Washington County sheriff's investigators were working on that connection Wednesday. Around 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, two deputies from Holmes and Jackson counties were at the gate to the Bakers' property. The home was not visible, sitting down a long path and blocked by a hill.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Andrea Gainey could not confirm if deputies were descending on the home.

Baker, who was in contact with The News Herald multiple times Tuesday night, could not be reached multiple times Wednesday.

A woman who said she was Baker's niece confirmed she was the same woman accused in the 1987 disappearance. But that arrest, according to niece Tabatha Phillips, was "on a technicality" and Baker was innocent.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided this synopsis of the cold case:

"(Paul) Baker was living with his father and stepmother, James and Susan Baker at the time of his disappearance. They have been arrested in connection with his disappearance. They were charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for allegedly beating him before he vanished March 5, 1987.

"Susan Baker told police she put him down for a nap that day and returned to find him missing. Deputies and police searched the area around their home for several days but found no trace of the little boy.

"After the disappearance, the couple's 6-year-old daughter was removed by state social workers who discovered broken bones and sores on her body.

"Susan Baker was convicted for beating the girl and sentenced to 10 years in prison for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Paul has never been found."

Investigators were in briefings Wednesday morning. Gainey said Baker was one of hundreds interviewed, that the Sheriff's Office was aware of the similarities in Dedrick's disappearance and the 1987 case, and that the person of interest still was not public information.

Later Wednesday, Gainey said there were no updates and a News Herald public records request for incident reports, identifying information and a 911 recording still was pending. The News Herald requested those items Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Phillips wrote Wednesday morning on her Twitter page that she "knows the POI is the one who cared the most." Later, in a phone interview, she said she wrote that under the assumption that Baker is the person of interest.

But "Susan would not hurt a child," she said.

"That's the only reason they're putting her as a person of interest now is because of all of that crap that happened way back when," Phillips said.

"They need to start asking (the mother) where the child is," she said. "She's the one that put it somewhere."

Washington County court records show a 2004 case labeled "67-04-DR-177/FIN JUD OF MARRIAGE" between a Susan and James Baker. Court records also show a mortgage for Susan and James Baker for a piece of property at 3395 Orange Hill Road, the same address cited in the e-mail to Crist.

A sheriff's investigator in Beaufort, S.C., briefly returned a phone call on the cold case but hung up soon after, saying he was in a meeting.

Reached again later, Beaufort County Sheriff's Lt. Bob Bromage referred all questions to the state Department of Law Enforcement, which was overseeing the 1987 disappearance investigation. The FDLE was looking into the case to provide more information.

Also Wednesday, the state Department of Children and Families released an eight-page review of the agency's response to abuse reports at Shannon's home.

DCF was involved several times between March and September after receiving allegations that Shannon's parents, Crystina Lynn Mercer and James Dedrick, were using drugs and abusing her. The review found caseworkers conducted "thorough and timely work" and staff were reasonably sure the family was cooperating.

"Based on this review several actions are taking place to dig further into the Department's prior involvement with the family," the report said. It did not address an investigation into the person who reported the alleged abuse.

wait what you have a sister on here... now my head is spinning LOL

Thanks Klaas for the article...

naaa, I was one of many that was sleuthing info after someone posted that her name may be associated with another MP case.

LOLOL Penny, she had several doing the huh the other night, she also went into a chat and was answering questions in the same triple step manner as she did there..

There is new stuff at the end of this article: http://www.newsherald.com/news/pleas...d-chipley.html

~snip~ Baker said she had no clue where the girl could be, but she expressed a firm belief that Shannon often went ignored by her parents, who she said lived in the trailer among roaches.

Baker told of an evening she tried to make Shannon’s parents notice her turning over in her playpen — a rare feat. But “Tina and Rusty couldn’t take their eyes off the TV long enough to see their child turn over,” she said.

She spoke with the News Herald after some hesitation, claiming the Sheriff’s Office warned her not to speak to reporters — a claim the spokeswoman, Gainey, called “untrue.”

Baker eventually detailed a night two weeks ago when Mercer sat on a bed and “said she wished that Shannon would disappear because Shannon’s not Rusty’s daughter, and she wished that Shannon was gone, so she could have a baby with Rusty.”

It disturbed Baker to see Shannon’s parents so uncaring, she said. She claimed there were many times she was allowed to take Shannon away for “as long as I wanted.”

But a stranger’s abduction was impossible, she said, as the family’s door remained latch-bolted shut every day, and “there was no way in this world that anybody could get in that trailer.”

Baker, in the middle of baby-sitting other children Tuesday night, said she wants more interrogations done in the case.

“They need to pin Tina against the wall … until she tells them what she did with that baby,” Baker said.

“Instead of chasing ghosts into the bushes and stuff,” she said, “they need to focus on that.”

I had not seen all of these quotes before.... had any of you? Is this old to everyone but me?

Salem
------------------------------------------
from WS

Penny, FannieMae and I have been blogging together for a long time and been thru a lot together, she is like a sister to me. Just as I love all of you and have shared my life with you, I have with her also.

Thanks Toler... Funny coming from the same person that had a 3 year old Paul vanish on her watch huh?

http://www.newsherald.com/news/span-78790-baker-class.html

Missing baby update coming tonight
By ANDREW GANT / News Herald Writer
2009-11-04 10:13:11

A full update on the case of missing baby Shannon Dedrick will be posted soon. Below is a partial account of Wednesday's developments:

CHIPLEY — Authorities confirmed Wednesday they were investigating connections between a 22-year-old missing child case in South Carolina and the recent disappearance of 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick from her family's trailer near the woods.

On the fourth day of the search for Shannon, sheriff's deputies were at the home of baby sitter Susan Baker, who said Tuesday in a News Herald interview she "loved that child" and tried to have the state intervene with the family. Baker also supplied an e-mail she sent to Gov. Charlie Crist pleading that someone help Shannon, whom she said was being abused by her parents. Read that story here »

It appeared she is the same Susan Baker implicated in a 1987 missing-child case in Beaufort, S.C. That child, then-3-year-old Paul Baker, never has been found.

Washington County sheriff's investigators were working on that connection Wednesday. Around 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, two deputies from Holmes and Jackson counties were at the gate to the Bakers' property. The home was not visible, sitting down a long path and blocked by a hill.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Andrea Gainey could not confirm if deputies were descending on the home.

Baker, who was in contact with The News Herald multiple times Tuesday night, could not be reached multiple times Wednesday.

A woman who said she was Baker's niece confirmed she was the same woman accused in the 1987 disappearance. But that arrest, according to niece Tabatha Phillips, was "on a technicality" and Baker was innocent.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided this synopsis of the cold case:

"(Paul) Baker was living with his father and stepmother, James and Susan Baker at the time of his disappearance. They have been arrested in connection with his disappearance. They were charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for allegedly beating him before he vanished March 5, 1987.

"Susan Baker told police she put him down for a nap that day and returned to find him missing. Deputies and police searched the area around their home for several days but found no trace of the little boy.

"After the disappearance, the couple's 6-year-old daughter was removed by state social workers who discovered broken bones and sores on her body.

"Susan Baker was convicted for beating the girl and sentenced to 10 years in prison for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Paul has never been found."

Investigators were in briefings Wednesday morning. Gainey said Baker was one of hundreds interviewed, that the Sheriff's Office was aware of the similarities in Dedrick's disappearance and the 1987 case, and that the person of interest still was not public information.

Later Wednesday, Gainey said there were no updates and a News Herald public records request for incident reports, identifying information and a 911 recording still was pending. The News Herald requested those items Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Phillips wrote Wednesday morning on her Twitter page that she "knows the POI is the one who cared the most." Later, in a phone interview, she said she wrote that under the assumption that Baker is the person of interest.

But "Susan would not hurt a child," she said.

"That's the only reason they're putting her as a person of interest now is because of all of that crap that happened way back when," Phillips said.

"They need to start asking (the mother) where the child is," she said. "She's the one that put it somewhere."

Washington County court records show a 2004 case labeled "67-04-DR-177/FIN JUD OF MARRIAGE" between a Susan and James Baker. Court records also show a mortgage for Susan and James Baker for a piece of property at 3395 Orange Hill Road, the same address cited in the e-mail to Crist.

A sheriff's investigator in Beaufort, S.C., briefly returned a phone call on the cold case but hung up soon after, saying he was in a meeting.

Reached again later, Beaufort County Sheriff's Lt. Bob Bromage referred all questions to the state Department of Law Enforcement, which was overseeing the 1987 disappearance investigation. The FDLE was looking into the case to provide more information.

Also Wednesday, the state Department of Children and Families released an eight-page review of the agency's response to abuse reports at Shannon's home.

DCF was involved several times between March and September after receiving allegations that Shannon's parents, Crystina Lynn Mercer and James Dedrick, were using drugs and abusing her. The review found caseworkers conducted "thorough and timely work" and staff were reasonably sure the family was cooperating.

"Based on this review several actions are taking place to dig further into the Department's prior involvement with the family," the report said. It did not address an investigation into the person who reported the alleged abuse.

Last updated Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 5:20 p.m. CST.

Well what I am getting out of this I think the Babysister abuser/ killer took advantage of Shannon's parents and the situation.. It wouldn't put it pass me the Psyco babysitter did this ....Baker should of been rotting in jail along time ago ..

Amen....you got that right.......this is the reason you cant let your kids out of your sight, people like this so called babysitter slinking around when she should have been behind bars......

I believe I found Tabatha's  Phillips maiden name... Yeomans

Now what is the relationship to Susan Baker..

Marriage certificate... In July of 2006

https://www.myfloridacounty.com/serv/MyFloridaCounty/ORI/Order

Sheriff Calls 1 a.m. Press Conference in Missing Baby Case

http://www.fosterfollynews.com/news/2009Nov4PressConferenceAboutBaby.php

JG wanna join us in the chat while we wait?

http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/externals/stream_chat/

Thanks.. Where is the chat at.. Thanks for inviting me...

Baby Found Alive: At a news conference held early Thursday morning the Washington County Sheriff reported that 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick was found alive. More details shortly at wmbb.com.

Read more: http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/news_conference_on_missing_baby_scheduled_for_100_a.m._thursday/mbb7719708/#ixzz0Vy46swSN

Sheriff Haddock says Shannon was found in a box under Susan and Paul’s bed around 9:55 p.m. Wednesday. Shannon was rushed to Northwest Florida Hospital. Susan and Paul Baker are in custody. The mother of Shannon, Christina Mercer is also in police custody. The investigation is on-going.

God Bless Shannon is found...

Baby Shannon Dedrick found alive, Washington County sheriff confirms.

http://twitter.com/wdglover

Baby Found Alive
3395 Orange Hill Road
Chipley, FL

Read more: http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/news_conference_on_missing_baby_scheduled_for_100_a.m._thursday/19708/#ixzz0VyCsxyO5

I thought for sure the parents were involved. Glad to see I was proven wrong. Poor baby, all alone in a box for all those house (maybe even days).

The thought of that makes my heart heavy.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

I'm glad she's been found safely.

Hallelujah and I thank the Lord that baby Shannon was found alive!    ::MonkeyCheer2::   ::MonkeyCheer3::   ::MonkeyCheer4::
I was reading along trying to catch up and suddenly she's found. 
I loved catching up on this tonite - what a wonderful outcome and I
didn't have a clue till I got to the last pages of the thread...

Now it's time for justice for Shannon.  I wish Paul Baker could be found alive also or at least what happened to him. I hope this will bring some justice for his sister too. There has been alot of awesome sleuthing on this case.  You monkeys are the greatest bunch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     

Mom arrested along with the babysitter.  Seems she was involved.  The pic they show on the news a couple hours ago have her sleeping like and angel and looking so cute and sweet!  I guess their money making scheme blew up in their face!!!  Too bad, so sad.  Hope they burn...putting a baby in a box under the bed, too stupid for words.  Our good ol boys won't let them get away with this cause of all the hours and time put into this and they were just being duped.  In my mind I hear "Sheriff Buford T. Justice in hot pahsoot!".  Only funny to me I'm sure!  So happy today, she's alive!  Now, DFACS, do your job and place this child with the family that wants her!
Could HaLeigh be alive too?  I wanna know!

You know Ms. Baker must be pretty dumb...the neighbor said she had to move a little to let the van down the driveway around 9:15/9:30 am the morning Shannon was reported missing.  Wouldn't you abort your mission after that? 

(http://www.foxnews.com/images/headers/fnc_logo05.gif)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571888,00.html

Missing Fla. Baby Found Alive Under Baby Sitter's Bed
Thursday , November 05, 2009

A baby missing for five days was found alive and well under her baby sitter's bed, and Florida authorities said Thursday they plan to charge the sitter, her husband and the child's mother.

Investigators found 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick in a box tucked under a bed surrounded by items intended to hide the child at Susan Elizabeth Baker's home near Chipley, a rural Panhandle town, Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said in an interview early Thursday. The baby was placed in protective custody.

"Statistically speaking this should not have ever happened, that we found this child alive, especially after so many days. Time was against us," Haddock said.

Shannon was taken to a hospital but appeared healthy, Haddock said.

"It was a very emotional for us, because once got her to hospital, we called our wives and every one of us was crying. Grown men crying. It's just such a relief" that the child was found, he said. "We've had missing children cases in the past, but nothing like this."

Haddock said deputies were working to charge Baker, her husband James Arthur Baker and the child's mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer. He wouldn't provide details about the possible charges but said more information would be released later Thursday. Authorities don't believe the child's father, James Russell Dedrick Jr., was involved but the case is still under investigation, Haddock said. He said Susan Baker and the father are related.

Haddock confirmed that Baker was the Susan Elizabeth Baker cited in court records as being convicted of assault in South Carolina in 1987, and questioned but not indicted in 2000 for a 3-year-old child's disappearance, also in 1987. He confirmed that Baker wrote an e-mail to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's office in August, pleading for the governor to help Shannon Dedrick.

"And my response is, 'We saved the child, Ms. Baker," Haddock said.

Court documents released Wednesday showed that child welfare workers in Florida began looking into allegations Shannon was being abused less than two weeks after she was born.

Her parents reported her missing around 11 a.m. Saturday. They told authorities that they had not seen her since about 3 a.m.

About 100 law enforcement agents and others scoured the woods around the couple's home, Haddock said. Investigators contacted the Bakers again on Wednesday and they allowed them into their home, Haddock said.

"They gave us consent to search the home and found the baby in a box under a bed, with stuff pushed around the box to hide the baby," he said.

Court records released Wednesday said investigators frequently went to the infant's home from August to late September and reported that both parents used marijuana and kept a messy home.

But investigators reported that Shannon seemed to be cared for and repeatedly cited that the risk to the baby was "intermediate." In September, an investigator said a physician determined that the child was healthy and expressed "no concerns regarding the baby."

Court records show Elizabeth Baker was charged in South Carolina with assault and battery with intent to kill and assault and batter of a high and aggravated nature in 1987. After being convicted, she was sentence to 10 years in prison. The sentence was suspended to 80 days.

She was extradited to South Carolina from Chipley in 2000, and charged in the disappearance of 3-year-old Paul Leonard Baker. The child was never found, according to the Beaufort County, S.C., sheriff's office.

Police reports don't indicate the child's possible relation.

A sheriff's investigator from Beaufort County was sent to Florida to assist in the missing child case, sheriff's spokeswoman Robin McIntosh said Wednesday.

How wonderful.  Thank you for a little soul that is still with us.  I hope little Shannon will now have a chance at a better quality life.  I am really happy to hear this great news!  :2rofl:

 ::MonkeyCheer4:: ::MonkeyCheer4::  I am so happy to hear this!   ::MonkeyAngel::

 ::MonkeyCheer2::  ::MonkeyCheer3::  ::MonkeyCheer4::

Thank You God!!!!!!! Thank You Thank You THANK YOU!!!!

What a beautiful day it is today!!! Shannon is alive!!! People know she needs a good home!!!

YES!!!

WOW - I am so happy that this Child was found safe and sound!  What a relief.  Kudos to the police and other people that searched - I am so happy that their persistence paid off. How great for these dedicated people to find a live child - it must make all the work they do worth it!

I was right Mr. Dedrick, the baby's father, is related to Ms. Baker and her husband.  Very confusing indeed but I thought I read it somewhere.  I think Ms. B is Dedricks stepmonster.  I can't imagine Dedrick not being implicated.  Will have to wait till 11am for the presser.

I've been trying to figure out how to change the title on Shannon's title on the Gratefulness candle page here at SM from missing to found. (Oh it's so wonderful to use that word!) I thought it would be a good idea to let it be a page where we can light candles and pray for the little darlin' to live and grow up in a safe home...but I can't figure out how to change it. Help?

Edit:  The Gratefulness candle page threads are locked, because they are meant to have no comments, but are meant to be a place the candle can be found and lit.  Moderators and Administrators can go into locked threads or unlock them.  I've gone in and changed the subject line/title on Shannon's candle thread and in the post with her candle link.  Thank you for calling attention to the change we needed to make.  It's the first time I've ever been able to make a change in the gratefulness candle area where someone was found safe.   ::MonkeyAngel::  BTW, you can also use the "report to moderator" function to let us know we need to edit or look into something, so we don't miss it.  Thanks again  ::MonkeyCool:: Muffy

Thank you Jesus!!!!

Did ya'll see how that baby looked up at that Sherriff!  How Precious!

How long was she in the box? I'm confused. The reporter asks how long do you think she had been in that box? And he answers..."Since approximately 8am this morning." Another reporter asks "And when did you begin searching that house? You found her at 9:55." He says "We started seraching that house at... somebody somebody help me...about 8:30 this afternoon..."

He can't be saying 8:30 this afternoon? I've listened I don't know how many times and I can't seem to make it out.

How long was that poor sweet baby in that box under the bed?

Great, Great Morning Monkeys and Guest!


What a wonderful day the Lord has made. Thank you Lord that this precious little one was found safe.

I hope they put these pos under the jail and put enough pressure on them to find out where little Paul is...so they can bring some closure for his family.


God Bless you sweet Shannon!!!

wow and thank god she  is alive...
why is the mother in custody as well?
if this was a scam that they were all in on then they really need help... next time you want to scam someone don't use someone who really did make a child disappear!!!
OMG WTF?

http://fosterfollynews.com/news/2009Nov5BabyShannonFoundUnderBed.php


Baby Shannon Found Safe In Box Under Bed
Sheriff Haddock said the baby was found by Detective Kenny Brock in a box under a bed at the home of Susan E. and James Arthur Baker, 3395 Orange Hill Road, southeast of Chipley.
Thursday November 5th, 2009

(http://fosterfollynews.com/news/images/2009nov5babyshannonrecovered016.jpg)

There wasn't a dry eye in the room early Thursday morning when Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock carried bright-eyed 7 month Shannon Lea Dedrick into the press conference held to announce the baby had been recovered.

(http://fosterfollynews.com/news/images/2009nov5babyshannonrecovered008.jpg)

Haddock said the baby was found by Detective Kenny Brock in a box under a bed at the home of Susan E. and James Arthur Baker, 3395 Orange Hill Road, southeast of Chipley. Susan Baker was a babysitter used by Crystina Mercer and Rusty Dedrick (Shannon's parents), and according to Rusty Dedrick's sister was considered a member of the family.

 

Haddock said recovery of the infant came about 9:55 p.m. Wednesday night after Susan Baker gave deputies permission to search the Baker residence.

(http://fosterfollynews.com/news/images/2009nov5babyshannonrecovered002.jpg)

At the left Shannon's aunt and uncle beamed lovingly at the 7 month old.


At the 1 a.m. press conference Haddock said Shannon had already been seen by a doctor at Northwest Florida Community Hospital in Chipley (picture at the right) and would be taken back to the hospital for further observation following the press conference.

(http://fosterfollynews.com/news/images/shannon-at-hospital-after-b.jpg)

Sheriff Haddock said at the time of the press conference Crystina Lynn Mercer, Susan E. Baker and James Arthur Baker were in custody and at that time there was no indication the father was involved in the baby's disappearance.


Kandis Boyer, Crystina's mother, had made the trip from San Antonio, Texas to be with her daughter. Boyer said Crystina had spent the day with her and her two sisters and were settling in for the night when Sheriff Haddock called and asked that Crystina be brought to his office.

Boyer said her concerns were initially centered on finding Shannon, but now that the baby is safe she wants to see that Crystina receives the help she needs.  She described her daughter as "very confused".

According to Haddock,  the infant was discovered missing from the family residence (shown at the left) about 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31st.  He said a short time later the Washington County Sheriff's Office received a call concerning the missing infant.

Earlier in the week Haddock said once his office became involved Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Bay County Sheriff's Department were called in for assistance.

K-9 units initially searched a 500-600 yard area around the residence; however, Haddock said that perimeter widened as no trace of the baby has been found.

Haddock said Thursday morning that Susan Baker had been a person of interest since the investigation got under way, but law enforcement officials were working with the State Attorney's Office to develop their case.

Happy that Shannon didn't end up as a statistic, Sheriff Haddock thanked all those involved in the search and rescue effort that ended with the infant being brought in safely. He said ground volunteers, law enforcement from surrounding counties, the Police Departments in Chipley and Graceville, along with K9 rescue units and mounted patrols all played a crucial role in the safe return of the infant.

Good Morning Monkeys

dear God thank you for this little one being found alive

Is there a link to the news conference?

Monkey hugs

Oh thank God!!! Oh thank God!!! Shannon is found!  ::MonkeyAngel:: ::MonkeyAngel::

Under the bed in a box, and maybe there all day! How could they?? How terrifiying that must have been for that baby. It sound like she must be a very quiet, passive baby.

With the mother under arrest, I suppose it looks like she knew all along where the baby was, and maybe even handed her over.  Wow!

Now to please find out what happened to Paul. His father and this terrible woman know exactly what happened.

My money is still on you, Searching!  ::MonkeyKiss::

Sorry to quote myself

Thanks Klaas for posting the conference but is there a link to a video of it?

Monkey hugs

this made my day!  ::MonkeyCheer2::  such good good good news!
never lose the faith monkey friends!

(http://www.foxnews.com/images/root_images/110509_foundalive4_20091105_085155.jpg)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571888,00.html

1AM press conference here:

http://www.newsherald.com/news/shannon-78823-alive-video.html


He surprised everyone by bringing out Shannon alive!

Wonderful news!  Thanks be to God!


The mother may be in custody about the pot smoking around the baby.  If not, she should be. 

What great news! I'm glad she was found safe!  ::MonkeyCheer4::

Just look at that sweet face.    ::MonkeyAngel::

thanks Klaas! that was a joy to watch!
I am on top of the world today...
I hope that this baby goes to a proper home now....someone who will love her and take really good care of her....She deserves it! Thank you God! prayers are answered!

Trimm...she does have a sweet little face doesn't she?!!  ::MonkeyCheer2::

You guys have to watch this press conference, it's great!

Finally some good news in one of these cases!!   ::cartwheel:: ::MonkeyCheer2:: ::MonkeyCheer3::

I did watch it...it was a pleasure to see...I have never seen a news conference quite like that one before....really caring LE there I would say...letting all see with their own eyes how well Baby Shannon is doing....hats off to LE in this one!!

Thank God! Its great when it turns out this way too many dont. Im glad they found her when they did who knows what their intentions were, Im sure they knew they couldnt hide her forever.

This is such great news to wake up to...thank God !!! ::MonkeyCheer2::

I haven't read the story yet but knew I'd find the info right here ::MonkeyCool::

Good Good Good Morning Monkeys !!! (http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr165/Sea_Searcher/Coffee/SSmonkeyguycoffeespill.gif)

Oh My G.     I am not one to cry easily, but tears of joy now pour down my face.   This is just such a surprise. 

Wonderful. ::cartwheel:: ::cartwheel:: ::cartwheel::

...and good, good, good morning to you seasearcher!   ::cartwheel::
It is a good morning isn't it?
God bless that sweet baby and bring her parents that will love and nurture her.

 ::MonkeyAngel:: ::MonkeyAngel:: ::MonkeyAngel::

Such good news!!!
 ::MonkeyHeart::
Some of the latest on the story:

Missing Baby Found Alive Under Bed
By ERIN GARTNER and MELISSA NELSON, AP
posted: 58 MINUTES AGOcomments: 335filed under: Crime News, National NewsPRINT|E-MAILMOREText SizeAAACHIPLEY, Fla. (Nov. 5) - A baby missing for five days was found alive and well under her baby sitter's bed, and Florida authorities said Thursday they plan to charge the sitter, her husband and the child's mother.
Investigators found 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick in a box tucked under a bed surrounded by items intended to hide the child at Susan Elizabeth Baker's home near Chipley, a rural Panhandle town, Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said in an interview early Thursday. The baby was placed in protective custody.
"Statistically speaking this should not have ever happened, that we found this child alive, especially after so many days. Time was against us," Haddock said.
Shannon was taken to a hospital but appeared healthy, Haddock said.
"It was very emotional for us, because once we got her to the hospital, we called our wives and every one of us was crying. Grown men crying. It's just such a relief," he said. "We've had missing children cases in the past, but nothing like this."
Haddock said deputies were working to charge Baker, her husband James Arthur Baker and the child's mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer. He wouldn't provide details about the possible charges or say how they believe the mother was involved, but said more information would be released later Thursday. Authorities don't believe the child's father, James Russell Dedrick Jr., was involved but the case is still under investigation, Haddock said. He said Susan Baker and the father are related.
Haddock confirmed that Baker was the Susan Elizabeth Baker cited in court records as being convicted of assault in South Carolina in 1987, and questioned but not indicted in 2000 for a 3-year-old child's disappearance, also in 1987. He confirmed that Baker wrote an e-mail to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's office in August, pleading for the governor to help Shannon Dedrick.
"And my response is, 'We saved the child, Ms. Baker," Haddock said.
Court documents released Wednesday showed that child welfare workers in Florida began looking into allegations Shannon was being abused less than two weeks after she was born.
Her parents reported her missing around 11 a.m. Saturday. They told authorities that they had not seen her since about 3 a.m.
About 100 law enforcement agents and others scoured the woods around the couple's home, Haddock said. Investigators contacted the Bakers again on Wednesday and they allowed them into their home, Haddock said.
"They gave us consent to search the home and found the baby in a box under a bed, with stuff pushed around the box to hide the baby," he said.
Court records released Wednesday said investigators frequently went to the infant's home from August to late September and reported that both parents used marijuana and kept a messy home.
But investigators reported that Shannon seemed to be cared for and repeatedly noted that the risk to the baby was "intermediate." In September, an investigator said a physician determined that the child was healthy and expressed "no concerns regarding the baby."
Court records show that Susan Elizabeth Baker had been suspected in another child's 1987 disappearance in South Carolina and convicted of assaulting her daughter.
In 2000, Susan and James Baker were extradited to South Carolina and charged in the disappearance of their 3-year-old son more than a decade earlier.
Susan Baker had told authorities Paul Leonard Baker disappeared from the family's Beaufort, S.C., home on March 5, 1987, while she was napping. But a massive manhunt in the swampy area around the Bakers' home turned up nothing, and Susan Baker was never indicted. Authorities could not immediately say Thursday what became of the charge against James Baker.
The child was never found, according to the Beaufort County, S.C., sheriff's office.
When the couple reported their son's disappearance, the Bakers' 6-year-old daughter was taken into state custody, where officials discovered she had been severely beaten.
Susan Baker was charged with causing the girl's injuries, including sores on her back and broken hands, and charged with assault and battery with intent to kill. After being convicted, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The sentence was suspended to 80 days.
A sheriff's investigator from Beaufort County was sent to Florida to assist in the missing child case, sheriff's spokeswoman Robin McIntosh said Wednesday.

Gartner reported from Chicago. Associated Press Writer Katrina A. Goggins in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

After being convicted, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The sentence was suspended to 80 days.
 :smt014 :smt014 :smt014

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a miracle!  ::MonkeyAngel::

Way to go Chipley, So happy happy happy this child has been find alive, now I hope they finally do something with this so- called babysitter.......she does not need to be around children ever ever again.......the LE caught on to her too fast or there's no telling what she would have done with this poor baby, she was probably waiting for the property to be searched and then she just might have disposed of her then........Thank God she was found in time!!!!!!!! God Bless Her little soul..... ::MonkeyCheer3:: ::MonkeyCheer3:: ::MonkeyCheer3:: ::MonkeyCheer3:: ::MonkeyCheer3:: ::MonkeyCheer3::

http://www.wtvynews4.com/cbsnewslivefeed

Link to live pressor

Did I miss it, or were there no charges against James Baker?  ::MonkeyConfused::

I can't believe the highest charge Baker has is a second degree felony!  Something else strange if the mom, Tina handed the baby off to Baker why report her missing? And if Tina did give the baby to Baker why not just say so in the darn beginning that she had the baby.

heard on the news just now that the baby was fed but had been left in the box by herself for about 12 hours...baby was not crying when she was under the bed...box that baby was in was pushed way back under the bed and that there was lots of stuff pushed up around the box...My word!

very odd...I agree...

I didn't hear him list any charges against James Baker

Yes and the box was a cedar box with a lid and clasp!

wth....they said in the pressor that the baby was in this box for about 12 hours, and that there was a box of baking powder in it with her to hide the smell of her dirty diaper, this woman is nuts, nuts, nuts, and just what was she gonna do with her after awhile......Im so glad this child was found in time, they also said that the Mother and Susan Baker had met and the Mother had asked Susan to take custody of this child......wht again, why not just let Shannon live with her, why pull all this crap,,,,,,,,something is not right with all this.........Thank God they found this baby, otherwise I dont think she would have been alive much longer!!!!

I just watched this on Fox, and I am in shock about the charges as well! Am I correct no kidnapping charges either? And wasn't Baker one of the ones saying to ask the mother what she had done with the baby? I can't believe these charges aren't as serious as they should be!  ::MonkeyMad::

Guys not sure if i did this right because i've never started a thread before but here is one for PAUL BAKER... I want him found and I hope that LE can use these new charges to get the Baker's to spill where Paul is.... 22 years is too long
I realize this is an old case and we might not have much to go on but I wanted Paul to not be overlooked so here is his thread
http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=6428.new#new

Good job Penny....At least if they had charged Susan Baker with something higher she could have plead down using info about Paul!

where is Detective Searching? get her on this case right away lol!
seriously, this woman needs to come clean about baby Paul...the bio mom deserves to know what happened to her child...imo....

Yeah and she was supposedly telling her "neice" Tab and she posting all kinds of trash on topix.  This woman has a lot of neices....

That's what I hoped for as well. But these charges don't sound to me to be serious enough that that will happen. And what she is being charged with, will be plead down anyway. No need for her to ever say a word about Paul. IMO  ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_florida_baby

Officials: Mom gave missing Fla. infant to sitter

  By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson, Associated Press Writer   – 3 mins ago

CHIPLEY, Fla. – A mother who reported her infant daughter missing had secretly turned her over to her baby sitter, who hid her in a box under a bed, authorities said Thursday.

Chrystina Lynn Mercer gave 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick to Susan Elizabeth Baker early Saturday, about 10 hours before she was reported missing, Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said Thursday.

The report led to a five-day search in and around this rural Panhandle town that ended late Wednesday when Shannon was found alive. Baker had allowed deputies and their search dogs into her home, which is about 12 miles from Mercer's. Haddock said Baker had asked Mercer on Friday if she could permanently take custody of Shannon, though he did not say why.

*snipped*

I'm very happy Shannon was found.  The circumstances, though, make me  ::MonkeyMad:: ::MonkeyShocked:: ::MonkeyNoNo:: ::MonkeyRoll:: 

Crazy Susan Baker knew she could not adopt this child legally with her record so she probably got the mom to go along with the "missing" ruse.  She obviously has gotten away with it before in baby Paul's case. 

Susan Baker should have to register as some kind of offender so she just doesnt go under the radar.  She should not be allowed with in 50 feet of a child.   ::MonkeyMad::

 I agree, this woman needs to never be allowed around children again, she is crazy and this just proves how crazy she is, a grown woman in her right mind would never had agreed to such a thing, what did she think she was gonna do with this baby through all the rest of years to come......she is really crazy and needs to be locked up for life,....I think she took advantage of the Mother and her disability to talk her into this deal, Crazy Crazy......

ITA it was a missed oppertunity.  I am very surprised (and grateful) though Susan Baker didn't get scared and kill the baby before she was found.

 ::MonkeyMad::

Bless her sweet little heart!!!

 ::MonkeyMad:: ::MonkeyMad:: ::MonkeyMad::

Great!

I don't know why I didn't think to start a candle group for Paul sooner...I'll go do that now and post a link when I'm done. I'm hoping with you and praying this will help open up some doors to show where he is and give his family peace.

Just heard (thanks Trimm!) that Shannon Lee had been found alive!

I went and made this from a photo of her at the news conference today to celebrate!

Bless her heart.

Thanks for explaining that to me, MuffyBee...I thought about sending it to ya'll but thought maybe I'm overlookin' something simple and someone could just point it out to me. I'm still learning how to do things around here. Thanks for fixing it...and I'm so glad it needed to be fixed for her... ::MonkeyCheer2::

What a wonderful day!

http://www.wtvynews4.com/home

not sure if has been posted yet.

Video of the 1 a.m presser, 2 a.m cant remember, happened so fast and was running on fumes... either way.. have tissues ready.

I was waiting for the reporter to update the chat page as it was happening because it was not live. I was up thru this and was so glad when I read those words Shannon found alive, I could not sleep till about 7 a.m. Now for Paul.

Chipley LE said they found out about Susan Bakers background and her involvement in the missing Paul Bakers case, the first night this baby came up missing, they found this out while doing background checks on everyone involved, and Im sure thats why they were so hush hush during these few days this child was missing, they must have already known or at least suspected that this woman was involved in this some way.......They did a great job IMO.....Now Im hoping that LE with maybe find out something about little Paul, they have this lady now.....she wont go anywhere like last time because they found the baby right there in her home so she cant make excuses or lie her way out of this one......Go Chipley LE and all the other people that was there to help!!!!

::MonkeyDance:: hell ya searching lets get this bish....
in the back of my mind i was hoping that she already spilled the beans regarding paul and that that could possibly be why the lesser charges for shannon... but in reality i doubt it as i have not heard of anything like that yet...
i started a thread for paul this afternoon and we are going to need your help big time on this one .... everything we dig up is going to need serious SEARCHING lol
i am so excited about this one for some reason... seems to me that nobody really looked that hard in the first place...
either way for paul lets expect the worst, pray for the best, and bring this bish down...
his real mom needs closure!!!!!
there are so many similarities in this and the haleigh case that i get chills... i hope crystal doesn't have to wait 22 years like this mom has had to  ::MonkeyMad::

Wonderful Wonderful News! God Bless those Men and Women who worked so hard to bring this baby to safety.  What is wrong with these women.  What were they trying to do?  They are just nuts. 

http://www2.dothaneagle.com/dea/news/crime_courts/article/bonds_set_for_women_charged_in_missing_chipley_baby_case/106613/

Bonds set for women charged in missing Chipley baby case.

Penny, I plan on working hard on Pauls case. I agree, his mother has waited far too many years not knowing what happened. I think that the cedar box incident with Shannon was done too well, so SB must have had practice and it makes me sick.   ::MonkeyMad::

I can just imagine what poor Paul went through. Were his last hours spent in a cedar box as well?

the box looked like a coffin to me....

thanks searching i want to watch her fry for paul and shannon... if it were up to her shannon would still be in that box
i saw all your links in the paul thread i added snippets under them... this one is going to be tough but i want justice for paul and his mother

(snipped from above link)
Peel ordered that neither person have contact with the child or each other, should they make bond. Prosecutors asked for a higher bond for Baker due to a prior arrest for aggravated battery in connection with her missing stepson, who has not been found since he went missing in 1987.

was susan possibly teaching her how to get rid of a child? was susan her mentor

aaaaw
cutest little munchkin face ever!!!!!!!

I am thrilled and shocked of the news of little Shannon being found. May you find a life with people who love you and only have your best interest at heart, dear sweet Shannon! ::MonkeyAngel::

I am disgusted that these two demented POS will probably get off with a slap to the wrist and continue to live their disgusting lives amongst children.  :smt078

I do not think the pictures of these fine citizens has been posted:
 http://www.news4jax.com/news/21527903/detail.html#  (http://www.news4jax.com/news/21527903/detail.html#)

This is a Beautiful Picture with a Beautiful Ending.

Not many children that go missing wind up being found and alive after days of

searching.. God Bless this child..

(http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt126/jerseygirl12345/BabyShannon.jpg)

What a sweet picture! May she have a life full of restfull nights to come. I can not imagine what her little life has been like.

Penny, That is a scary thought. I would not doubt it though. In talking to Tina's family, they said that she never matured past the mental age of around 13 so I am sure Susan found it quite easy to tweak with Tina's mind enough to get Tina to follow her... I believe the investigator was correct, SB is a wicked wicked woman. Shame on her and shame on her husband. He had to know that baby was there. He has to know what happened to Paul.

Looked like one to me as well and I do believe that is what it was meant to be. I am thinking Paul may have ended up with a coffin just like it.

I know I've watched too many Forensic Files when I am hoping that the chest Baby Shannon was in somehow holds DNA that shouldn't be there from little Paul!!!  God please leave another clue so that these people are charged with something else for him.  The Bakers' won't get enough time from Shannon.  Maybe South Carolina will be able to slap her with more charges.

where did you guys see the box? i must be missing it because i've looked and can't find it
thanks in advance for a link?

I haven't seen the box yet and IIRC it was cedar (i hope that is right)
anyways if this part is true then it falls into what i had felt she would do... a "propper" burial because in her mind she does love these kids... also cedar is common in chests and closets because it naturally repels bugs and moths

I haven't seen the box either.  But it sounds very scary.

http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/vid/16491237

This video says Shannon was in the box for 12 hours  ::MonkeyWaa::

http://www.islandpacket.com/breaking_news/story/1024740.html

Penny a picture of the box at this link.

Here it is. Hope this isn't too large.

(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/sueann37/MISSING_Baby_ShannonBox1_1106_highl.jpg)

thanks!!!
and thelid was down for it to be under the bed and she had blankets in it as shown...
shannon is lucky to be alive after 12 hrs

I believe that I heard that the box also had a lock on it...
no food, no love, no daylight for 12 hours....I hope that someone takes this baby and adopts her and gives her all the love that she deserves...what do we know about the maternal grandmother? other than she is being supportive of her daughter, the bio bag....from what she said on NG the other night..
I am not too certain that she should get her hands on Shannon either...

These are Tabatha the niece's Twitter posts. She seems to have had her eyes opened somewhat. She still dosen't believe her Uncle James knew anything about it. All I can say is that he must be the stupidest man in the world if he didn't.

http://twitter.com/sieric

glad Uncle James knew nothing of Susan's actions with keeping the baby under the bed in a box in the other room!33 minutes ago from MySpace
 
 
put a restraining order on Susan Baker so when she does ever get out of jail, she better never come near me or my kids again!about 7 hours ago from MySpace
 
 
feels like an idiot for defending Sue! I was wrong about her, and I am sorry to all for defending her! I hope they put her under the jail!3:55 PM Nov 5th from MySpace
 

Cookie, all I can say on that is apparently Tina is off her meds and very confused. From what I have heard, she is not sure what happened...

http://www.blufftontoday.com/node/31301#comment-148936

Read Farkwar's comment. Fark, If you are reading this, You are Da Bomb!!!

I can't begin to describe how happy I feel that baby Shannon has been found alive.  I've seen so many times the outcome in these cases end up as a recovery of remains or sometimes they're never found.  This time it was different.  Shannon was found alive!  I had already started resigning myself that this baby was probably already dead, buried under some leaves.  But there was always hope, and this time it came through.  Shannon's case has reawakened something in me to never give up. Shannon didn't give up, not even after being put in a box under a bed for 12 hours.  And we shouldn't give up.  Not while there's hope.  Bless Shannon and all those that helped find her and bring her back from the precipice.  For the first time ever, I went into the Gratefulness Candles area and edited a person was found.  I lit a candle after editing the thread with a prayer for thankfulness she was found.   ::MonkeyAngel:: 

Muffers....I never give up on finding these kids alive until proven otherwise..as you say, there is always hope...
...if parents don't have hope for their child, what else do they have when the child is missing? jmo....Keep faith and hope alive for all missing children everywhere!!!

http://www.newsherald.com/news/places-78885-chipley-shannon.html

Video of the Baker, Mercer arraignments.

http://www.newsherald.com/news/places-78885-chipley-shannon.html

CHIPLEY — When Florida’s Department of Children and Families took custody of Shannon Lee Dedrick this week, they already were very familiar with the infant and her family. The family had been under their eye almost since her March 11 birth.

Shannon’s mother, Crystina Lynn Mercer, her father, James Dedrick, and other household members were the subject of an investigation that began March 23 after the agency received a complaint on its Florida Abuse Hotline. The complainant, whose name has not been released, said Mercer was “emotionally handicapped, bipolar” and was “always looking for places to dump Shannon off,” according to a review of DCF’s actions in the case that was released by DCF earlier this week.

CHIPLEY — When Florida’s Department of Children and Families took custody of Shannon Lee Dedrick this week, they already were very familiar with the infant and her family. The family had been under their eye almost since her March 11 birth.

Shannon’s mother, Crystina Lynn Mercer, her father, James Dedrick, and other household members were the subject of an investigation that began March 23 after the agency received a complaint on its Florida Abuse Hotline. The complainant, whose name has not been released, said Mercer was “emotionally handicapped, bipolar” and was “always looking for places to dump Shannon off,” according to a review of DCF’s actions in the case that was released by DCF earlier this week.
Mercer, 25, reported Shannon missing last Saturday but, according to investigators, she had given the baby to Susan Baker, 50, the child’s baby sitter and stepaunt, and a suspect in the disappearance of her own stepson 22 years ago. The baby was found by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday night stuffed in a box under a bed in Baker’s home. Baker’s stepson was never found.

Baker was charged with aggravated child abuse and is being held on a $125,000 bond on the latest case. Mercer was charged with deserting a child and is being held on a $75,000 bond. Both faced 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 (not delinquency, according to the judge at the women’s arraignments) of a child.
Shannon is “safe and doing well,” Barbara Ash, a DCF spokeswoman, said Friday. She cited privacy concerns and declined to say who had custody of the baby. Shannon’s grandmother (Mercer’s mother), Kandis Boyer, said the baby is still in the custody of Florida’s Department of Children and Families. She added that she supports her daughter.

Boyer said she is determined to gain custody of Shannon.

“This isn’t over yet,” she said. “It might be a long battle but we’re here till the end.”

Washington County sheriff’s officials said Friday morning they would comply with Florida’s public records law and release reports, 911 calls and other documents about the case. But by late Friday afternoon, no one was an-swering the phone at the Sheriff’s Office and it had not released the documents.
DCF involvement

When investigators questioned the adults in Shannon’s home following the initial complaint earlier this year, they all said they did not smoke marijuana or cigarettes around the baby. However, Mercer and Dedrick did admit to smoking marijuana and tested positive for the substance in a urinalysis, investigators wrote. The investigators noted that the home was “messy but not hazardous” and that the family had baby formula, Shannon was dressed appropriately and did not have any scars or bruises. Officials also noted that Healthy Start, Social Security and the Women, Infants and Children programs already were involved in the family’s life.

The investigators asked Mercer and Dedrick to join a substance abuse evaluation and prevention program and they agreed to cooperate. The investigators determined the baby’s risk level was “intermediate” and left the baby in Mercer and Dedrick’s custody, officials wrote. Government officials checked on the situation March 25, March 26, April 15, April 22, May 13 and May 15 and each time determined that Shannon was at risk level of “intermedi-ate.”

On Aug. 12, investigators responded to a complaint someone had shaken the baby. All of the family members denied shaking the baby and Shannon smiled at everyone in the house and would often smile “spontaneously and responsively.” Government representatives then checked on the family Aug. 13, 14, 17, 24 and Sept. 3, 8, 10 and 14.

DCF officials are tasked with trying to keep families together unless the children have been physically, mentally or sexually abused, neglected or threatened with harm, according to the agency’s Web site.
It really is important for children to be with their families,” Ash said. “So what we’re really trying to focus on is giving the family services, whether it’s mental health, substance abuse treatment or parenting skills.”
Investigators have certain things that they look for when determining if a child should be removed from a home but each case is taken on an individual basis, Ash said.

“Our primary focus is keeping children safe and protecting them,” Ash said. “If we can, we want to keep the families together.” If investigators believed the child was in danger, Ash said, they would have taken her from the family during an earlier investigation.

 

again I say that I am not so sure that I would want the maternal grand mother to have Shannon...I know nothing about her really but I just have a feeling about her...I could be way off base on this, but not sure that she would be good for Shannon either....for some reason she reminded me of Anna Nicole Smith's mother....jmo...for now I think that the best place for Shannon is in state custody..

I agree, cookie.

My mom used to have a chest/box like that. She said they called it a "HOPE CHEST". It was usually a cedar chest like a cedar chiffarobe (sp?). Ironic, that little Shannon was put in a "Hope chest"  ::MonkeyAngel::

http://www.newsherald.com/news/everybody

Baby Shannon case: 'She had everybody fooled' // REPORTS, 911 CALL

CHIPLEY — When sheriff’s deputies found Crystina Mercer sitting on a rock outside her trailer, smoking a cigarette and casually wondering where her baby daughter could be, they wondered if it might be a Halloween prank.

Not quite.

A 911 call, released Tuesday, became the latest piece of the case against Mercer and her step-aunt, Susan Baker, whom investigators said conspired to make 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick disappear.

“Yes, my little girl… I woke up this morning and my 6-month-old daughter is… my 7-month-old daughter is missing,” Mercer told a 911 dispatcher at 11:23 a.m. Oct. 31, some 10 hours after investigators now believe she carried Shannon to a mailbox at the end of the dirt path to her home and handed her off to Baker.

“My front door looks like it’s been jimmied open today,” she continued.

There was no jimmying, at least not in connection to Shannon’s disappearance, investigators would conclude later, after finding Shannon hidden in a wooden box under a bed in Baker’s home.
---

Mercer’s report was strange from the moment deputies arrived, as they said she was calm and smoking outside the dirty, roach-infested trailer while the baby’s father, James “Rusty” Dedrick, was distraught, his face streaked with tears.

He didn’t know of the plan, Sheriff Bobby Haddock said. Meanwhile, Baker kept the baby and denied any involvement.

“She had everybody fooled,” Baker’s niece, Tabatha Phillips, said Tuesday in reaction to the arrests. In previous days, she had defended her.

“I never thought she would’ve done it.”

It was through Phillips that The News Herald reached Baker — before investigators confirmed she was a person of interest in the case — and published a story based on an interview with her. In it, Baker said she loved Shannon and that an abusive Mercer must know her whereabouts. She provided an e-mail she sent to Gov. Charlie Crist, pleading for state intervention in the home.

There were no hints, Phillips said, nothing even in hindsight to make her doubt Baker’s story.

What Baker kept hidden from The News Herald — besides the baby — was her history. She was the prime suspect in the 1987 disappearance of her stepson, Paul Baker, who vanished after she put him down for a nap and never was found.
She has been a suspect all along, and served 80 days for the beating of Paul’s sister, Nina, but prosecutors never had enough evidence to indict her in Paul’s case.

Documents obtained Tuesday from The Beaufort Gazette in Beaufort, S.C., show the depth of their suspicions.

The search for 3-year-old Paul was much like the search for Shannon — searchers with dogs scoured a creek bed, swamps, woods and yards and used a Marine helicopter to hover over outer creek banks and marsh grass.

Eight days later, Baker took a polygraph test. Results were incomplete because Baker was stressed, obese and taking muscle relaxers, but the man who administered it said he “believes Mrs. Baker is lying,” according to a report.

Her husband, James Baker, failed a polygraph test four days later.

Those results were not admissible in court.

Deputies investigated tips on Paul’s case. There was a call from a local girl who said she stumbled upon a 7-year-old boy’s body partially buried in the woods. It never was found.

There was Baker’s cell mate, who said Baker told her James had beaten Paul to death and she helped bury him in a neighbor’s yard — pretending the boy was a dead dog. Baker was taking the blame for him, she said.

There was James Baker himself, who one day told authorities he believed his wife had snapped at Paul’s misbehavior, asked Paul to take a walk down to the river, killed him and tossed him in the water.

A day later, he recanted that statement.

James Baker, who was released from custody in Chipley early after investigators found Shannon, did not return messages at two phone numbers seeking comment. He still could face charges.

Phillips said she saw him soon after deputies pulled Shannon from the box. She said he came to her house to profess his innocence, saying he was at work most days and had no idea Shannon was hidden under a bed in the home’s guest room — apparently also used as a computer room.

“When him and Sue were out in the yard and the cops came out, he looked at Sue and said, ‘What the hell have you done?’ ” Phillips recounted. “He claims not to have known, period.”

Investigators said Shannon spent as many as 12 hours in the box. Phillips said it must have been much longer, as Baker was away babysitting Phillips’ children during much of the search.

wasn't this "Tab" Tabitha the one who was posting different places and defending Baker and then apologized for sticking up for her once she learned the truth about her?

Thats her.

Updated: 3:16 PM Oct 1, 2010

Jury finds Baker guilty in missing baby case

Posted: 3:09 PM Oct 1, 2010

Chipley - It took only an hour and a half for jurors to find Susan Baker guilty on all three charges in the Baby Shannon Dedrick case that drew national media attention.

Just before 3 pm Friday, Baker was found guilty of aggravated child abuse, interference with custody, and giving false information to law enforcement officers.

In her testimony Thursday, Baker admitted that she’d taken the child and lied to law enforcement officers, but said that “I did what I had to do,” to ensure the safety of Baby Shannon. She claimed that the child’s mother, Crystal Mercer, had threatened to kill the child. Additionally, she said she had made repeated pleas to the Department of Children and Families to take the baby away from the parents because she was allegedly being neglected and living in unsanitary conditions.

Apparently, Baker and Mercer had made a deal for Baker to take the baby, but Mercer nevertheless told police that someone had come in the night and kidnapped the child. That set off a massive search, grabbing the attention of national media, which eventually came to a conclusion when authorities found Baby Shannon in a 2-foot by 3-foot wooden box, shoved under Baker’s bed with only a single hole for ventilation.

Neither woman’s husbands are believed to have been involved in the conspiracy. Baby Shannon remains in private foster care with the Department of Children and Families.

http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/104172839.html?ref=839

Can you imagine having someone like Susan Baker as your step-mother and she keeps trying to contact you and give you gifts?!  Scarey!!!  I don't blame Nina for distancing herself from her at all! Susan Baker abused Nina as a child, is believed to have murdered little Paul at age 3 (his remains never found), and then there's the crimes she was convicted of in the case of Shannon.   ::MonkeyNoNo::
 
http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/10/15/1408971/susan-bakers-stepdaughter-tries.html#storylink=misearch
Susan Baker's stepdaughter tries to move past horrific childhoodS
By JEFF KIDD
jkidd@beaufortgazette.com
October 15, 2010

 ::snipping2::
In a case that drew national attention, Baker was arrested Nov. 4, 2009, after law enforcement officers searched her trailer in Chipley, Fla., and found 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick in a latched cedar box beneath Baker's bed. Shannon had been missing for days and was found with an overflowing diaper and a bad rash, but she was otherwise unharmed.

Baker, Shannon's baby sitter and a friend of her parents, faces a sentence of as much as 35 years after her conviction earlier this month of aggravated child abuse, interference with custody and giving false information to Florida law enforcement. Judge Allen Register ordered her jailed without bond until her sentencing, expected Nov. 8.

"At her age, even if she just gets 20 years, she'll be 70 years old by the time she gets out," Nina said in a recent phone interview from her home near Durham, N.C. "... Nothing can ever make it up for what she did to me and my brother. If she spent her entire life in jail for my brother's death, it wouldn't make up for what she did. However, it all seems to work out. Good people get what they deserve; bad people get what they deserve.

"It just takes time."

A CHRONICLE OF MISDEEDS

Susan Baker was Nina's stepmother.

And her dedicated tormentor.

The abuse started about the time the family -- newlyweds Susan and James Baker, and James' children from a previous marriage, Nina and Paul -- moved to the Shell Point area after James was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

Paul, then 3, disappeared from the home March 5, 1987. He hasn't been seen since.

While his case remains unsolved, suspicion -- and the subsequent investigation -- quickly centered on Susan.

But authorities could never make charges stick. More than a decade passed before they even tried: Susan and James were charged in connection with Paul's disappearance in 2000, but a grand jury refused to indict; charges were brought again in 2003 but subsequently dropped.

In the days after Paul vanished, James turned Nina over to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office to be placed in foster care, telling investigators he feared for his daughter's safety.

A doctor at Naval Hospital Beaufort examined Nina, then 6. Her small body mapped the abuse.

He discovered a broken bone in her hand that had gone untreated. He also found ulcerated sores on her back that he determined were the result of severe beatings. Nina told investigators that Susan beat her with a stick; she still bears the small round scars from the floggings.

Nina also told investigators of being confined for hours to a closet, with a trash can to use as a toilet.

And of being made to stay up all night with a bar of soap in her mouth.

Susan pleaded guilty to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for abusing Nina. She was given 10 years in prison but released after 80 days when a judge suspended her sentence for time served, a move that dismayed child advocates in the Beaufort area.

Soon after Susan Baker's release, she moved with James to Florida. Nina was sent to live with her maternal grandmother, Linda Lambert of Mebane, N.C., who raised her.

Nina has seen her father and stepmother only a few times since. Most of what she knows about their present life, she has read in Susan Baker's letters.

Or in online reports of Susan's other misdeeds.

 ::snipping2::
Now, though, Nina has a life that has all but eliminated that longing.

She has three children, has earned a nursing degree, has married and moved from Chapel Hill, N.C., to Durham.

While the scars, horrible memories and the emptiness that came with her brother's loss remain, time has smoothed their jagged edges.

Nina simply doesn't need James Baker anymore.

"My life is just different now," she said. "... I might talk to my dad again one day, but he'll never see my children."

Nina also is at peace with one hard fact -- she'll likely never know what happened to her brother. Beaufort County investigators interrogated Baker again shortly after her Florida arrest last November but turned up no new leads in the 24-year-old case.

Nonetheless, Nina is confident Baker will not skirt serious punishment as she did more than 20 years ago, when her 10-year sentence for abuse was reduced to less than three months in jail.

Her only regret is that had Susan Baker been forced to serve a full sentence, Shannon Dedrick might never have been stuffed into that wooden box.

"Maybe those 10 years in jail would have done something, but because she got off so easy, I think she believed she could just continue to do things," Nina said.

"Now, maybe this will put an end to it."

http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/11/15/1445663/susan-baker-sentenced-to-25-years.html#storylink=misearch
Susan Baker sentenced to 25 years in 'Baby Shannon' case
By CHRIS OLWELL
The (Panama City, Fla.) News Herald
November 15, 2010

Mouse-over photos to zoom; Click on photos to order reprints

CHIPLEY, Fla. -- More than two decades after she became the prime suspect in the disappearance of her stepson, a former Beaufort resident was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing her neighbor's baby and keeping her locked in a wooden box.

Susan Baker, convicted last month in the disappearance of Shannon Dedrick, was sentenced Monday.

The 51-year-old defendant appeared in a jailhouse jumpsuit and handcuffs, facing a maximum sentence of 35 years on several charges -- aggravated child abuse, interference with custody and giving false information to law enforcement -- in the disappearance of "Baby Shannon," as the child has become known. Baker didn't address the judge before sentencing, but her ex-husband and brother asked for leniency.

Assistant State Attorney Greg Wilson told the judge the baby had spent about 36 hours locked in the box during the five days she was missing and asked that Baker be sentenced to one year for each hour the child spent in the box. Wilson said Baker was self-righteous and showed no remorse for what she had done, so there was no reason to mitigate her sentence.

"Even if she went about it the wrong way, her biggest intention was to get Shannon out of a bad situation," James Baker told Judge Allen Register before his ex-wife was sentenced.

Beaufort-area authorities still consider Susan Baker a suspect in the disappearance of her 3-year-old stepson, Paul Baker, who vanished from the family's Shell Point home on March 5, 1987.
More...

Good grief!  What a trying time for Nina and baby Shannon.  I hope a judge doesn't reduce her time again.
 ::MonkeyMad::