A 7-month baby who went missing in the Florida Panhandle has turned up safe and sound, tucked up in a box under her babysitter's bed.
Shannon Dedrick went missing for five days, a long time considering statistics show that only 30% of cases of children going missing return safe.
The baby girl was reported missing ten hours after her mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer, handed her over to babysitter Susan Elizabeth Baker. After days of searching and questioning the babysitter, the baby was eventually found in a small padded box under her bed.
Clothes had been packed in around her to muffle the sounds of crying, and baking soda applied to rid the area of dirty nappy smells.
The baby had been left alone for 12 hours whilst the police interviewed Baker, but had been fed and cared for before that. The babysitter has now been charged with various crimes including interference of child custody and neglect. In a strange twist, the mother has also been charged with several crimes related to the case.
It's unclear at the moment what has happened, but details are emerging of previous cases Baker has been involved in involving abduction and kidnapping. The missing girl's mother has also been the target of an investigation into child abuse.
Rumours are now emerging that Mercer had planned to give her child to the girl for the time being to avoid her being taken away for child abuse charges. Police are currently refusing to comment on the case.