Nearly 50 years ago, a newborn baby girl was found in a garbage bag at a hospital. North Carolina Landfill, authorities arrested a woman in one of the area’s oldest cold cases.

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office announced on February 25 that Cathy McKee, 69, of Whiteville, North Carolina, was arrested and charged with felony concealment of the birth of a child. McGee is Identified by DNA testing As a mother of a baby.

The investigation began in 1979 when the newborn’s body was found in a Columbus County landfill. Despite an extensive investigation, all leads were eventually exhausted. However, investigators said the case “will never be forgotten.”

Cathy McKee was arrested on February 24, nearly 50 years after the newborn baby was found in a North Carolina landfill. (Columbus County Sheriff’s Office)

“For 47 years, this baby girl’s story has been passed down – from one a generation of researchers “Some of those who originally worked on the scene are still remembered today; others have retired, continued working or passed away,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

The department said the responsibility initially felt by investigators “has not gone away,” calling the case a lasting reminder that this child deserves to be remembered and her story deserves answers.

Officials noted that although the case predates modern times DNA technologyInvestigators took “an abundance of caution” in preserving evidence, ultimately making an arrest possible decades later.

“Their professionalism, compassion and vision ensured this baby girl would not be lost to time,” the department said.

Pennsylvania girls’ church murder case solved after family pleads guilty to help identify killer

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 advanced DNA testing technology to find new clues and finally determined that McGee was the baby’s mother.

Sheriff Bill Rogers said that even nearly half a century later, the child “has never been forgotten.”

“As a father, this case is devastating. Every child that comes into this world deserves to be protected, loved and given the chance to be known,” he said. “For 47 years, this baby girl’s life – no matter how brief – was important to the investigators who initially took on the case and every detective who reviewed it since. She was never just evidence, and she was never just a report. She was a child, and she will never be forgotten.”

Click here to download the Fox News app

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office announced an arrest on Feb. 25 in a 1979 cold case in which a newborn was found dead in a landfill. (Columbus County Sheriff’s Office)

McGee was released on $5,000 bail and waived his right to an attorney. appear in court This week.

Related articles