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Mother and Aunt Charged in Disappearance of Baby Shannon
11/05/09 - 12:27 PM
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At a news conference Thursday morning Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock announced charges against the mother and aunt of 7-month-old Shannon Lea Dedrick.  The announcement came five days after Shannon was reported missing and just hours after she was found alive.  Sheriff Haddock says the investigation was like an old southern saying, it was like pulling hen’s teeth.  The case was solved through grunt work by all law enforcement involved.

Sherrif Haddock says statistics will show and prove that this should not happen but this was a successful event.  Sheriff Haddock had tears in his eyes at an early Thursday morning news conference where he presented baby Shannon alive.  He again fought back the tears later Thursday morning in a second news conference as he discussed the 2 x 3 cedar box Shannon was found in.

Shannon’s mother and aunt were taken into custody Wednesday night after Shannon was reportedly found in a box under the bed of Susan Baker, her aunt and babysitter.  A search was conducted at Baker’s home around 8:00 p.m.  Shannon was found just before 10:00 p.m. by Investigator Kenny Brock with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorites believe she had been closed up inside the box for 12 hours.  She did not have a bottle in the box.  Inside the shut box with Shannon was only baking powder to cover the smell of a dirty diaper and a blanket that was wrapped around her.  Investigators say Baker was using the box to hide Shannon when authorities were coming to the home. 

Sheriff Haddock says Shannon was fed and in good condition but was rushed to Northwest Florida Communty Hospital to be checked out.  That’s when he says several of his officers began calling their wives and crying.  She is doing well at this hour.  The Department of Children and Families will determine who gets custody of Shannon.  Several family members tell News 13 that they would be happy to care for her.

Investigators say that Shannon’s mother, Chrystina Mercer, arranged to give Shannon to Baker on Friday.  They believe the exchange took place at the mailbox at the end of Mercer’s drive on Brown Street in Chipley around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.  Arraignments for Mercer and Baker will be held Thursday afternoon at the Washington County Courthouse. 

Mercer faces the following charges:
Interference with child custody, 3rd degree felony
Desertion of a child, 3rd degree felony
False report regarding a missing child, 1st degree misdemeanor
False report of a crime, 1st degree misdemeanor
Contributing to delinquency of a child, 1st degree misdemeanor

Baker faces the following charges:
Neglect of a child with aggravated circumstances, 2nd degree felony
Interference with child custody, 3rd degree felony
False report regarding a missing child, 1st degree misdemeanor
False report of a crime, 1st degree misdemeanor
Contributing to delinquency of a child, 1st degree misdemeanor

Hours after the reported exchange at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Shannon was reported missing by her mother.  Since that time rescue crews from across the Panhandle and nation searched desperately for baby Shannon.  Sheriff Haddock says around 3,770 rescue man hours were logged.  Law enforcement and search and rescue crews from from Washington, Liberty, Gulf and Bay Counties assisted.  The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Department of Corrections and FBI also gave aid in the case. 

Sheriff Haddock says Mercer and Baker were persons of interest in the case from the beginning because they were two of the three people to last see the child since Friday.  Shannon’s father and Baker’s step-brother, Rusty Dedrick, was also one of the last to see Shannon but authorities say he was not involved in the arrangement between Mercer and Baker.  He also says Baker ridculed their investigation never knowing she was under the radar.

Susan Baker’s husband, James, was taken into custody Wednesday night, but he was released around 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning.  He is not facing any charges at this time.  Sheriff Haddock says they are still working with the State Attorney’s Office to determine if any charges will be filed.  He did say that James Baker was not invovled in the agreement between Mercer and Susan Baker.

This is not the first time that the Bakers have been involved in a missing child case.  Their 3-year-old son, Paul, was reported missing back in 1987 from Beaufort County, South Carolina.  The Bakers were extradited from Washington County to face a grand jury in connection with the crime in 2000, but they were not indicted.  Sheriff Haddock says they become aware of this information on Saturday while conducting their initial investigation background checks. 

News Release
Two Charged in Disappearance of Missing Baby Shannon Dedrick

For Immediate Release
November 5, 2009

Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock today announces the arrest of Susan Baker, 50, and Crystina Lynn Mercer, 25, both of Chipley, in the disappearance of seven-month-old Shannon Dedrick.  Baker, the child’s babysitter and half-sister to the child’s father, was charged with:
• Neglect of a child with aggravated circumstances – 2nd degree felony
• Interference with child custody – 3rd degree felony
• Filing a false report regarding a missing child – 1st degree misdemeanor
• Filing a false report of a crime – 1st degree misdemeanor
• Contributing to the delinquency of a child – 1st degree misdemeanor

Mercer, the child’s mother, was charged with:
• Interference with child custody – 3rd degree felony
• Desertion of a child – 3rd degree felony
• Filing a false report regarding a missing child – 1st degree misdemeanor
• Filing a false report of a crime – 1st degree misdemeanor
• Contributing to the delinquency of a child – 1st degree misdemeanor

Investigators learned that on the night of Oct. 30 Baker and Mercer agreed to allow Baker to take permanent custody of the baby.  The two arranged to meet at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 31 at Mercer’s residence for Mercer to give the child to Baker.  Mercer later reported the child missing at 11:23 a.m. 

Shannon Dedrick was safely located at 9:55 p.m. last night at Baker’s residence located at 3395 Orange Hill Road in Chipley after Baker gave investigators consent to search the residence.  The baby was found in a 2-foot by 3-foot wooden box under a bed in Baker’s home. 

The baby was taken to Northwest Florida Community Hospital where she was evaluated.  The child is currently in the care of Florida Department of Children and Families. 

Susan Baker’s husband, James Baker, was detained last night but has since been released. 

Baker and Mercer were booked into the Washington County Jail.

Sheriff Haddock thanks the following agencies for their assistance on the investigation: rescue personnel from Liberty, Gulf and Bay County Sheriff’s Offices; K-9 teams from Klass Kids, Florida State Hospital, Gulf Correctional, and Southwest TANSAR; law enforcement personnel from Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FBI, Team ADAM, an extension of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Office of the State Attorney, 14th Judicial Circuit, Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Gulf, and Holmes County Sheriff’s Offices, Chipley and Graceville Police Departments, Florida Department of Corrections, Bay County Mounted Posse and the Salvation Army.

Sheriff Haddock thanks the following agencies for their assistance on the investigation: rescue personnel from Liberty, Gulf and Bay County Sheriff’s Offices; K-9 teams from Klass Kids, Florida State Hospital, Gulf Correctional, and Southwest TANSAR; law enforcement personnel from Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FBI, Team ADAM, an extension of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Office of the State Attorney, 14th Judicial Circuit, Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Gulf, and Holmes County Sheriff’s Offices, Chipley and Graceville Police Departments, Florida Department of Corrections, Bay County Mounted Posse and the Salvation Army.

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