DNA Leads to Arrest in 1979 North Carolina Landfill Newborn Case

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina has arrested 69‑year‑old Cathy McKee of Whiteville and charged her with felony concealing the birth of a child nearly 47 years after a newborn girl was found dead in a trash bag at a county landfill in 1979. Investigators said the case, one of the area’s oldest cold cases, was formally reopened more than a year ago and that modern DNA testing of evidence carefully preserved since the original investigation identified McKee as the baby’s mother. Sheriff Bill Rogers emphasized that the infant “was never forgotten” as the file passed from one generation of detectives to the next, calling the case personal to him as a father and underscoring that every child “deserves protection, love, and the chance to be known.” Authorities credited the original investigators’ handling of physical evidence — before DNA technology existed — with making the arrest possible decades later, highlighting how forensic advances are reshaping unsolved cases nationwide. McKee was released on a $5,000 bond and waived her right to counsel at an initial court appearance; officials have not announced any additional charges or provided details on how the infant died.