An arrest has been made in connection with the discovery of the body of a newborn baby found in a North Carolina landfill site 47 years ago.
In 1979, the body of a newborn girl was discovered inside a trash bag at the Columbus County landfill. An extensive investigation followed, but despite the best efforts of deputies and investigators, all leads were eventually exhausted and the case went cold.
Investigators never gave up on finding the answers though. For 47 years, the case was passed from one generation of law enforcement to the next, with each determined to discover the circumstances that led to the unnamed child’s death.
The original investigators who worked on the case back in 1979 were left frustrated for decades. Many of them have since retired, moved on or even passed away. But their actions all those years ago when dealing with the case, ultimately played a crucial role in it being solved.
In a time long before modern DNA testing techniques existed, they treated the case with extraordinary care, collecting detailed evidence and preserving it meticulously. They did so not knowing whether it would ever lead to answers, but believing someday it might.
That was crucial. A little over a year ago, the case was formally reopened. The preservation of that evidence decades earlier allowed detectives to embark a renewed, patient, and methodical review of the evidence working alongside the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
Because that original evidence had been so meticulously preserved, new advances in DNA technology allowed investigators to pursue fresh leads and ultimately identify Cathy McKee as the infant’s mother.
On February 24, 2026, investigators with the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, working alongside the NCSBI Coastal District and the NCSBI Cold Case Unit, arrested Cathy McKee of Whiteville, North Carolina, charging her with Felony Concealing the Birth of a Child.
Because that original evidence had been preserved, advances in DNA technology allowed investigators to pursue new leads and ultimately identify Cathy McKee as the infant’s mother.
On February 24, 2026, investigators with the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, working alongside the NCSBI Coastal District and the NCSBI Cold Case Unit, arrested McKee of Whiteville, North Carolina, charging her with Felony Concealing the Birth of a Child.
Sheriff Bill Rogers said: “As a father, this case is one that hits deeply. Every child who enters this world deserves protection, love, and the chance to be known. For 47 years, this baby girl’s life—however brief—mattered to the investigators who first held that case in their hands and to every detective who reviewed it after. She was never just evidence, never just a report. She was a child, and she was never forgotten.
“Because of the compassion and foresight of those original deputies who preserved the evidence so carefully, and because of the determination of our detectives and SBI partners who have worked tirelessly on this investigation for more than a year, we are finally able to give this child what she deserved all along—the truth. This case shows that in Columbus County, time does not erase responsibility. We remember, and we keep working until answers are found.”
Rogers expressed appreciation to the NCBSI for their expertise, persistence, and partnership in bringing the investigation to resolution. He also recognized the original deputies and investigators whose work in 1979 made solving this case possible. Their dedication ensured this baby girl’s story would never be lost. Newsweek has contacted the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Read the full article here
