This is a strange story to say the least, but it may not be as dastardly as the media is trying to make it seem.
Investigators who searched Susan Elizabeth Baker's home near this rural Panhandle town found 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick tucked under a bed surrounded by items meant to hide her, Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said. The baby, who was taken to a hospital but appeared healthy, was placed in protective custody.
Authorities say the baby's mother secretly turned her over to her baby sitter in the middle of the night. So it's more like a parent giving her child away, not a kidnapping! The sitter is also related to the man cliaming to be the baby's father in some way.
Haddock says Baker asked the child's mom, Chrystina Lynn Mercer, on Friday if she could have custody of Shannon. He says Mercer brought the infant to Baker's house early Saturday, about 10 hours before she was reported missing.
Baker had reported the childs parents for abuse, and nothing was really done, and they believe she wanted the child out of concern for her well being.
According to court documents, child welfare officials began looking into allegations Shannon was being abused less than two weeks after she was born.
In August, Susan Baker wrote a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist's office, pleading for help for the baby. She claimed Dedrick shook Shannon and that he, Mercer and others smoked cigarettes and drugs in front of her. Baker also claimed Dedrick was not the child's father and said he claimed paternity to get welfare benefits.
Investigators frequently went to the infant's home from August to late September and reported that both parents used marijuana and kept a messy home. But they said Shannon seemed to be cared for and in September, a physician determined that she was healthy and expressed "no concerns regarding the baby."
You are going to have to go do some research about the incident 20 years ago about Baker in the case in South Carolina, but the belief is that she may have been protecting someone out of fear. That kind of makes sense, and explains her concern over this little girl. It will be interesting to get all of the details about this, for now Shannon is okay! 
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