Cathy McKee charged in 47-year-old North Carolina newborn cold case

Nearly 50 years after a newborn girl was found in a trash bag at a North Carolina landfill, authorities have arrested a woman in one of the region’s oldest unsolved cases.

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office announced on February 25 that Cathy McKee, 69, of Whiteville, North Carolina, was arrested and charged with concealing the birth of a child. McKee was determined to be the baby’s mother through DNA testing.

The investigation began in 1979 after the body of a newborn baby was found in a Columbus County landfill. Despite an extensive search, all leads eventually ran out. Still, investigators said the case was “never forgotten.”

“For 47 years, this girl’s story has been passed down from one generation of investigators to the next,” the sheriff’s department said. “Some of those who first worked on the scene are still remembered today; others have since retired, moved elsewhere or passed away.”

The responsibility felt by the original investigators “is not lost on us,” the department said, saying the case is a lasting reminder that the child deserves to be remembered and his story deserves answers.

Although the case predated modern DNA technology, investigators took “extraordinary care” to preserve the evidence, making an arrest possible decades later, authorities said.

“Their professionalism, compassion and foresight ensured that this girl was not lost in time,” the ministry said.

PENNSYLVANIA GIRL’S CHURCH MURDER SOLVED AFTER FAMILY CONFESSION, IDENTIFICATION OF KILLER HELPED

Cathy McKee, 69, was arrested after investigators used modern DNA testing to link her to a newborn baby found in a Columbus County landfill in 1979. (Columbus County Sheriff’s Office)

The case was officially reopened more than a year ago, and investigators used advances in DNA testing to pursue new leads and eventually identify McKee as the baby’s mother.

Sheriff Bill Rogers said that even though nearly half a century had passed, the boy was “never forgotten.”

“As a father, this situation hurts us deeply. Every child born into this world deserves protection, love and the chance to be known,” he said. “For 47 years, this girl’s life – no matter how brief – mattered to the investigators who first took this case and to every detective who examined it thereafter. She was never just evidence, or just a report. She was a child, and she was never forgotten.”

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The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office announced Feb. 25 an arrest in the unsolved case of a newborn baby found dead in a landfill in 1979. (Columbus County Sheriff’s Office)

McKee was released from custody on $5,000 bail and waived his right to counsel in court this week.

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