Shannon Dedrick’s parents investigated shortly after her birth

November 5, 1:56 AMCrime ExaminerCindy Adams

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Missing Person flyer for 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick.

Records released on Wednesday indicate that the parents of missing 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick were investigated by child welfare workers regarding allegations of abuse, only two weeks after the little girl’s birth.

Shannon was reported missing from her Chipley, Fla. home on Saturday morning at about 11:30 a.m.

Officials made frequent visits to the Dedrick home from August to September 2009, noting the home was messy and that both parents engaged in marijuana use. Nonetheless, Florida’s Department of Children and Families found Shannon to be cared for and risk to her was only “intermediate,” according to WFTV.

Reports indicate that the child’s babysitter, Susan Baker, 50, wrote a letter to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, several months ago, indicating Shannon needed help. To read the letter, click here.

Over twenty years ago, Baker’s 3-year-old son, Paul, went missing and has never been found. She was charged in South Carolina with assault and battery for abusing her 6-year-old daughter, who was removed from the home. Baker was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but her sentence was suspended to only 80 days, according to WFTV.

In 2000, after moving to Florida, Baker and her husband were extradited to South Carolina and arrested in connection with the disappearance of Paul. To read about the case, click here.

According to the News Herald, sheriff’s deputies had surrounded the Baker’s home as of Wednesday afternoon.

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