Haddock confirms ‘person of interest' in baby disappearance

CHIPLEY – Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock confirmed that there is a “person of interest” in the disappearance of 7-month old Shannon Lea Dedrick some time Saturday. Aside from shooting down rumors, however, Haddock gave little new information about the case.

Haddock also said that Internet rumors that the mother had confessed to burying the baby were not true, and there was no search underway at the old landfill on South Boulevard. The site is being used for the various search teams participating in the hunt for the missing child.

Haddock said the two adults living at 793C Brown Street have been interviewed but he would go into any specifics about what investigators learned. Haddock also refused to release the names of the adults or release the name of the person of interest.

Haddock said the adults had no police records, and declined to say if they had been investigated by the Department of Children and Families.

Haddock said the department received word at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday that the baby was missing, and the adults said she went missing between 3 a.m. when they went to bed and 11 a.m. when they woke up. Search dogs from Chattahoochie State Hospital and Gulf Correctional Institution were sent out first and then a “fingertip-to-fingertip” search was initiated of the 500-600-foot wooded area near the home.

The word also went out to the “child is Missing” Network. “Within minutes 1,300 people in Chipley were alerted,” he said. Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Team Adam that works with the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children also joined the search.