Baby Shannon Found Alive!
Found Alive!
Sadly, missing children cases don’t end well, but this one did and I can say that I cried with the Washington County Sheriff as he brought 7-month old Shannon Dedrick into the press conference area early this morning. What a happy moment!
Shannon went missing from her Chipley, Florida home Halloween morning, and her mother, Chrystina Mercer, contacted law enforcement that she woke up around 11:00 and the baby was just gone. Vanished into thin air.
Law enforcement reported that there was a person of interest in the case, but didn’t provide the public with information. As it turns out, Shannon’s great aunt, Susan Baker, was the person of interest, and ultimately where baby Shannon was located…lying in a cedar chest under a bed in the home of Susan Baker, covered in baking soda and in a dirty diaper!
From what I have been able to glean from a family member, Tina Mercer, Shannon’s mother, is developmentally
Tina Mercer, mother
disabled. She has the mental capacity of a 12-year old. A question was posed about contraception due to her diminished mental capacity, and although the family could not make her have a sterilization procedure, she was supposed to have been on birth control. However, with no one there to really monitor that she took her pill, and she ended up pregnant.
The Department of Children and Families were assisting Tina and her husband in raising Shannon. They were providing parenting classes to the couple and were to be checking in on them regularly to ensure Shannon’s safety and well-being. But just as you think that this is a cut and dry missing child case, it started taking twists and turns that involved a 22-year old missing child case in South Carolina.
Susan Baker
To give you some background on Susan Baker: Shannon’s aunt, Susan Baker, was Shannon’s babysitter. She is also the mother of missing Paul Leonard Baker. According to the Charley Project, Susan Baker was the step-mother of Paul Baker. Paul’s father, James Baker and his biological mother divorced in the mid-80’s when James married the babysitter, Susan. Paul’s biological mother lacked the financial means to provide for her two children after the divorce and a judge awarded full custody to the father. By this time James Baker had married Susan, and they cared for the children, Paul and Nina.
On March 5, 1987 Susan told law enforcement that she put Paul down for a nap and when she came to wake him a few hours later, he was gone. The couple was arrested in the case and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for allegedly beating 3-year-old Paul before he vanished. Paul’s sister, Nina, who was 6-years old at the time, was removed by state social workers who discovered that she had broken bones and sores on her body. Susan Baker was convicted for beating the girl and was sentenced to 10-years in prison for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Her sentence was suspended for time served. Paul has never been found.
A Beaufort County sheriff’s deputy was said to be headed to Chipley, Florida to help authorities there investigate possible connections between the 22-year-old, unsolved missing child case in Beaufort and Susan Baker’s involvement in Shannon’s case.
All I can say is I am thrilled that they found her. It was a thrill to have a happy ending for once where missing children are concerned. Shannon didn’t seem to mind all of the gasps as Sheriff Bobby Haddock carried her in his arms into the press conference early this morning.
A beautiful ending!
Susan Baker and Crystina Mercer are being held in the Washington County jail. The investigation is on-going. They are not releasing the charges at this time.
![[del.icio.us]](http://beaconhell.com/b/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://beaconhell.com/b/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Google]](http://beaconhell.com/b/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[LinkedIn]](http://beaconhell.com/b/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/linkedin.png)
![[MySpace]](http://beaconhell.com/b/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://beaconhell.com/b/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Twitter]](http://beaconhell.com/b/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Email]](http://beaconhell.com/b/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
© beaconhell.com
~Princess~
Related posts:
Hell Yeah!! A Happy ending.. at least the best we could hope for.
Hey princess, I cant login for some reason…
WOW, I must say I would NEVER anticipated the ending to this that we’ve seen. I’ve become so jaded and pessimistic when it comes to any child that turns up missing, so this was certainly a welcome sight!
That being said, I dont even know where to begin to list all the with all the things that seem to horribly wrong in this little girls life…for now I am just going to be happy she is safe, and seemingly (?) unharmed…
Though I have to say, I am extremely curious about where she was found and what she was covered in…WTF?
If the mother has the mentality of a 12 Yo why is she in jail?? They should never have let this witch out of jail for harming the other 2 children. Why is her husband still with her?? You know this is just strange because it is usually the men that are abusive and the women are compliant and passive. WTF??
I want to know what she was planning on doing by covering the child in baking soda? Why not just change her diaper? I know that I am going to get hate mail for saying this, but women who have the mental capacity of a child should not be having children. PERIOD. If it means sterilizing them so be it.
You won’t hear me argue about that. I totally agree! I would even go so far as to say that if a woman has the mental capacity of a child and gets pregnant, either abort the pregnancy or remove the child from her care the moment she has it.
One happy ending amongst 100 unhappy endings.
Thank God this little girl is alive, but she is by no means “OK.” The child was locked in a coffin-like wooden box and stuffed under a bed for 12 hours and did not cry? No, this baby is NOT OK and probably has congenital problems with neglect, abuse, and “failure to thrive” on top of that. This baby needs to be adopted into a good home with people who can provide therapy 8 ways to sunday – a full evaluation, physical therapy, mental therapy and stimulation, and great love and care throughout her life. That film is not all that heartwarming when your realize that this baby is so detached she does not respond to anyone around her any differently than the next. Yes this could have been way more tragic and her precious life is the most important thing. But it could STILL be tragic if this child is returned to that family. They are not equipped to deal with her, her mother, or any of their problems, and this baby deserves SO MUCH MORE than to be with any of them. They failed her already, do not give them the chance to ultimately fail her again.