Deputies find baby missing four days

CHIPLEY, Fla., Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Police detained an infant's mother and babysitter after finding the girl in a box under a bed in the babysitter's Chipley, Fla., home, officials said Thursday.

Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock introduced Baby Shannon during a news conference following a four-day search for the baby, the Northwestern Florida Daily News in Fort Walton Beach reported.

Sheriff's deputies said they detained the girl's mother, Crystina Lynn Mercer, and the babysitter and her husband, Susan and James Baker.

Susan Baker was also questioned in the disappearance of her toddler stepson 22 years ago in South Carolina, the Florida newspaper reported. That child has not been found.

After getting a search warrant, sheriff's deputies searched the Baker residence Wednesday, finding the baby in a box under a bed, Haddock said. The girl was taken to an area hospital for a preliminary physical and would be examined further Thursday, the sheriff said.

Custody of the baby hasn't been determined, but family members at the news conference said their main concern was the baby's safety.

"We're taking this one step at a time," the baby's grandmother, Kandis Boyer, said. "The main focus is on Shannon. Thank God for bringing my granddaughter to safety."