Monday I reported on another missing child case from Florida. 7 month old, Shannon Dedrick. She is white and is 2 ft tall and weighs only about 11 lbs. Some says she has blonde hair, others say it is brown but she has blues eyes.
Shannon disappeared from her home in Chipley Florida on October 31, 2009. She was reported missing around 11:50 am that morning. Shannon’s aunt notified the sheriff’s office that the baby’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.
Well an updated report came in today that says months before Shannon was reported missing her baby sitter pleaded with the governor in an email to please, please save that child from her parents’ alleged pattern of drug abuse and really strange things.
The baby sitter, Susan Baker was interviewed Tuesday and she claimed the baby’s mother said she wished her daughter would disappear weeks before the child disappeared. She stated that she had her concerns for the baby even before that. She emailed the governor in August begging him for help saying that child needs help and no one is helping her.
“I loved that child,” said Baker in the interview. “And I don’t know where she’s at. And I am 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 said she did get a call from CPS that said they would investigate. Peter Digre, DCF’s assistant secretary for operations said that he received two reports on the family of allegations including the use of marijuana around Shannon and a complaint that the baby had been shaken. He said no evidence had been found by the doctors to prove that.
The family then entered into treatment programs and got help from food stamps and a Women, Infants and Children program. DCF stayed in contact with the baby’s pediatrician.
Baker identified the parents as Tina Mercer and her boyfriend Rusty Dedrick even though the Washington County Sheriff’s Office would not confirm that.
Now I am reading that the authorities have confirmed that they are investigating a possible connection between a 22 year old missing case in South Carolina and the missing Shannon Dedrick case.
After the interview with Susan Baker they say it appears she is the same Susan Baker that was implicated in a 1987 missing child case in Beaufort South Carolina. The child involved there, 3 year old Paul Baker, has never been found.
A woman that investigators spoke with saying she was Baker’s niece who has verified that Baker is the same woman accused of the 1987 disappearance. The niece, Tabitha Phillips claims though that the arrest of her aunt was on a technicality and her aunt was innocent.
When digging up the case it was found that Paul Baker lived with his father and step mother, James and Susan Baker. The two of them were arrested and charged with assult and battery of a high and aggravated nature for allegedly beating him before he disappeared on March 5, 1987.
Susan Baker claimed she has put the child down for a nap and when she returned for him later he was gone. Detectives searched the area and never found any trace of the child.
After the disappearance, the couple’s 6 year old daughter was removed from their home by social workers who discovered she had broken bones and sores all over her body.
Susan Baker was convicted of beating the little girl and was given 10 years in prison for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. The baby Paul has still never been found though.
Baker’s niece says, “That’s the only reason they’re putting her as a person of interest now is because of all that crap that happened way back then.”
They need to start asking the mother where the child is,” said Phillips. “She’s the one that put it somewhere.”
So I guess the question here is, is this Susan Baker involved in the disappearance of little Shannon Dedrick or did her parents do something to her? I pray whoever is involved hasn’t hurt this innocent baby. She didn’t ask to come into this world and is certainly not to blame for any inconveniences she may have caused her parents or anyone else. A baby can never be blamed for that.
Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of this baby please call it in to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 850-638-6111 or you can contact:
FDLE Missing Endangered Persons
Information Clearinghouse
1-888-FL MISSING
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us
Don’t forget to pray for all the others as well as Caylee Anthony, Adji Desir, Haleigh Cummings, Somer Thompson, Elizabeth Olten, Masaraha Ross, Shannon Dedrick, Alex Mercado and Rebecca Marie Allen. They all need our prayers. God bless you all that care.
Jan Barrett
As a favor to our readers I am posting these web sites:
Stop the abuse and murder of the children in the U.S.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/16/stop-the-abuse-and-murder-of-the-children-in-the-us
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/change-sex-offender-laws
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44 users commented in " Shannon Dedrick - Was She in Danger Living At Home? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackA 7-month-old weighing only 11 pounds is severely underweight by any standard! This child was in danger long before this event. But it’s very scary that the babysitter–a woman with a history of being near children who are abused and/or go missing–is referring to the child using the past tense.
Jan, thanks for updating us, this is scary, sounds like the babysitter could be the guilty one. Sad, sad.
I feel so bad reading about kids like this, thank you for the update,im hoping for a safe return on the little girl
Strwberrikissez said,in November 4th, 2009 at 10:07 pm I feel so bad reading about kids like this, thank you for the update,im hoping for a safe return on the little girl
looks like your hoping for a safe return came true.
1 am presser was held-Shannon was found alive in a box under a bed at the babysitters house.
The babysitter and her husband have been taken into police custody.
WOO HOO-GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!
sorry about the double post!! it was an accident!!!!!1
Forgot to mention that the mom was also taken into police custody.
Yeah. Baby is alive!!!
Thank God that she was found alive.. The mom, baby sister and the baby sitter husband will be charged but havent said yet what the charges will be. They do not believe the father of Shannon was not involved.
Shannon was found alive under the babysitter Susan Baker’s bed in a box and other things around the baby to hide her.
finally LE finds one in time and thank god this lil one is fine.
i don’t know much about the mother but i think they’re charging her as well, however susan baker sounds like an abomination of a person if theres any merit linking this case to the one of her step son paul .. its rediculous ppl think they can get away with crap like this ..and she did get away with child murder apparantly for 20 years ..but not anymore .. this crap needs to stop.
we need to save these children and stop the violence towards children and women ..especially children
Thank God, at least one baby was found safe, now praying for the others!
Susan Baker should rot in jail!
Missing Florida Baby Found Safe; Mother, Babysitter Facing Charges
http://wokv.com/localnews/2009/11/missing-florida-baby-found-saf.html
Truly a good ending Shannon is alive. Taken by the sitter that they trusted, this woman has been involved with a child dissapearing years before that has never been found.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20091105/BREAKI
Paul Baker had a mother who wanted him. It was his dirt-bag father and babysitter-turned-stepmother from Hell who insisted on keeping Paul and his sister, because they did not want to pay child support. Instead, the two children were beaten, starved, and Paul was likely killed.
So, now we have another child whose babysitter is none other than Susan Baker, coming up missing. I am so glad that the child was found before she had a chance to abuse this one, also. She is a predator and needs to be locked up for the remainder of her life.
Video of Happy reunion
http://www.wftv.com/video/21528403/index.html
Mother, Sitter Detained over Case of 7-Month-Old Found Alive
Authorities do not believe the husband is involved, wait a minute how could he not know there was a baby in the house!
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/florida/news-ar
I’m so glad that Shannon was found alive and every was arrested. Although I do have 1 question if it can be answered. Okay I under stand the Baker’s being arrested, But why the mother too?
PAWS, Maybe she ws involved it allowing the sitter to take Shannnon that is the only thing I can think of.
OMG, Susan is Shannon’s Aunt. The mother’s half sister.
Yes she is small world huh.
Makes me wonder if they were maybe trying to pull a copy cat for money etc.
Protective services missed the boat on this one, continued drug use should be cause to remove this child from there care. They were told at the hospital when Shannon was born not to use drugs around that baby, they did not listen.
Paw,
I just read on an article that Susan is related tot he father, not the mother.
http://www.examiner.com/x-7403-Tampa-Crime-Examiner~y2009m11d5-Shannon-Dedrick-found-alive-hidden-in-a-box-under-babysitters-bed-video
Did you see somewhere that Susan is related to the mother?
Talina
News conference just on HLN says the Mother conspired to do this so called kidnapping. Mother handed over the baby at 1.30 am in the morning at the mail box.
Susan is related to the father.
Another crazy situation with another crazy family, prosecute them and rejoice that Shannon is alive. I pray that now the state will protect her!!
PEOPLE ARE CRAZY, WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?
That’s sad, they keep showing the PC on HLN. He stops and is almost in tears as he says Shannon was found in a box and was in that box for almost 12 hours under the bed.
I could have swore I heard him say Susan is the half sister of the Mother.
Shannon is under protective custody. Had children protective service done there job and removed this child because of the continued drugs use around her this would have never happened. I can not believe she did not suffocate in that trunk with the lid closed. Thank God she is alive and well.
PAW, They did say that she was the sister, then heard she was the sister of the father. So I am not sure at this point.
Susan spent 80 days of a 10 year sentence, that is a outrage. Where is the justice system, are they asleep on the bench, you break the arms of a chikd and bruise it and get 80 days.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/sheriff-78828-baby-box.html
ALso, marijuana use is not cause to remove the child. Nor is any other drug offense on the first offense. They have to allow these people a chance to turn themselves around. If every child was “jerked” away from thier parents on the first call the system would be so overwraught that it would collapse. Now, non-compliance IS a reason to remove the child(ren) from the home. They DID compliy. I think this girl was way in over her head and she was convinced that “this is what was best for Shannon”. How hard would it be to convince a mentally impaired person of that? IMO Not much, especially with all of the problems this woman Susan had already helped to cause in thier lives. (Not that the investigation by DCFS was unwarrented) Just that enough calls and trouble made and Christina was worn down over time. It’s hard enough to be a good parent even when you have all of your faculaties.
yes, half-sister of the father.
In the PDF file I poster there was only one time the Mom tested low for drug use. The rest of the time she tested dirty. They were on state food stamps and yet doing drugs what is wrong with the system. She was also told not to do drugs around the baby because of the babys health problems. This was a diassater wating to happen, I just Thank God it turned out the the baby is ok and in protective custody now.
Me too!!! I cried tears of joy when they brought her out at the press conf. I’d just like to say “Way to go Washington County LE!!!”
They jumped on this and clamped down like a bulldog and wouldn’t let it loose until they had their answers! Putnam county needs to take note!
Today, I’m a PROUD FLORIDIAN!!!
Pat;
“The rest of the time” was only the 1st offense. After that she only tested for trace amounts which, depending on the time frame could have been within the 28-36 day range of detoxing from it. (I use detoxing loosely)I usage = 1 month till clean and then ONLY if a light smoker.
“in protective custody” usually means with the Maternal Grand Mother/Parents. This also usually means that the “bad parent” still has access to the child, most often whenever the bio parent wants. However, if totally cleared the child MIGHT be placed with the father. From what I’ve read so far though, that doesn’t seem very likely. If they were bad parents together it a far stretch to think he’d be a good parent alone.
The grandma on the news conference said baby Shannon was place with a loving couple, she has visited the family and the baby. That could change if the grandma meet the criteria, but that will be a ways off for now. I do not know how long it take for a perso not to show drugs in there system on testing never been around it and never want to be. I just thank God every day my kids are wondeful parents to their children and never involved in drugs. I always told them you have a child that is your life and they come first, they did not ask to be here. But they are your responsibility to raise and guide threw life.
http://www.islandpacket.com/1482/story/1025171.html
http://i33.tinypic.com/34ir8dx.jpg
Pat, I have to agree with you on the whole “Child come first” senario. I told and still tell me kids (18 & 20) “once you have a child, you’re life is secondary, thiers is PRIORITY!!!”
I have posted on here many times that the ONLY reason I know about the “drug culture” is due to the fact that I was also an abducted, abuse, and raped child who was raised in that lifestyle by my abductor, my father. Most of my familial relations are drug abusers, if not serious drug abusers (ie cocaine, meth, crack, pills, weed ect) It is my hope that out of that horror and tragedy there IS a silver lining. I can be a voice in answering others questions about this topic in hopes of helping solve cases or dig up new leads.
You can’t know what it is like to reside in two seperate worlds at once. The first being the world I was raised in (against my will) and the other world being that of the rest of you who have never had that “lifestyle” touch your lives. My it never! Even in childhood I knew I didn’t ever want to be like them, sometime in my teens when the pain of the past was so hard to bear, I did use marijuana to dull the pain, but dropped that within my teenaged years.
What ever happened to the step-daughter from 22 yrs ago - she would be 28 now… any memories of her little brother?
These people have no business rearing children. I am so sad to think there is another child out there, 22 years, in a box , it makes me shudder. The crack-heads should be sterilized …or worse actually.
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