Grandparents of missing North Port baby beg for help

NORTH PORT, Fla. – Investigators continued their search for a missing 9-week-old baby as the child’s grandparents pleaded for cooperation from his parents, who are currently awaiting extradition back to Florida to face related charges.

Joseph D. Walsh, 36, and Kristen L. Bury, 32, both of 217 Orduna Drive in North Port, are each charged with child neglect without great bodily harm. Both remained in the Jasper County, S.C., jail on Thursday, each under a $150,000 bond.

The couple is expected to be extradited back to Florida within a week, authorities said.

Their child, Chance Lee Walsh, was last seen with Bury on Sept. 9 at their home, according to a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office report. Bury’s mother, Sally Susino, attempted to check on her daughter and grandson that same day and two days later.

“Ms. Susino could hear Kristen inside the home but she refused to answer the door on both occasions,” the report said. “Additional attempts to check the welfare of Chance Walsh were made by family members over the following days but were unsuccessful.”

Vehicle wreck

The couple were “long-time drug users,” which heightened concerns for the baby’s safety, the report said. Relatives contacted the sheriff’s office after learning the couple was involved in a vehicle wreck in South Carolina on Oct. 2.

The wreck occurred on Interstate 95 North in Hardeeville, S.C., between 9-10 a.m., according to Hardeeville police. The department did not release any further information.

The couple’s two-door vehicle was turned in the opposite direction of traffic and had significant front-end damage, according to a WINK News reporter who happened to drive by the wreck. No other involved vehicles were seen in the area.

Bury told her father about the crash the next day, then asked him for money.

“Gary Millwater was told at that time by Kristen that she and Joseph Walsh had slept in the woods with the baby after the crash and that Chance was unharmed,” the report said.

Joseph Walsh contacted his mother, Kimberley Millwater, on Oct. 4 and told her the baby was killed in the wreck, the report said.

Inconsistent stories

Kimberley Millwater, after hearing both stories, contacted Hardeesville police.

“Kimberley Millwater was advised that there was no baby present at the crash scene, nor was there a car seat present or room in the vehicle for one,” the report said.

Bury then told Millwater that the baby was given away to a stranger at a Georgia hotel. The couple stayed at the Red Carpet Inn on Gordon Highway in Augusta, Ga. on Sept. 28 and Sept. 30, according to investigators.

Bury also told Millwater she despised Chance because he was not her previously deceased infant, according to the report.

Duane Jacob Walsh died two weeks after birth in 2014, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Neighbors questioned whether dogs killed the baby, but Bury claimed he likely died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the newspaper reported.

Sarasota County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Russell Vega said the investigation into Duane Walsh’s death may be reopened depending on the outcome of Chase’s disappearance.

“At that time, our complete evaluation found essentially no significant injuries,” Vega told the Charlotte Sun. “We did find a pretty significant acute kidney infection, which is the first time I have personally seen one in an autopsy of an infant.”

Bury’s first child was given up for adoption nearly 10 years ago, friends said.

Surveillance video from the Red Carpet Inn showed the couple without a baby. A hotel guest, Bailey Christensen, said Bury attempted to sell her various baby items, the report said.

“When asked why she was selling the items, Kristen told Bailey that her baby had died 3 weeks earlier,” the report said.

Blood found

Small amounts of blood were found on the bed pillows, comforter and mattress inside the couple’s Orduna Drive home on Monday, according to the report. Blood spatter was also found on the walls, door, mirror and light fixture in the bathroom.

Two cadaver dogs “displayed changes in behavior at the area of the entry door to the apartment, indicating the possible presence of human remains,” the report said.

No remains were found during the search.

The couple, when interviewed by investigators in South Carolina on Tuesday, claimed Chance was given to a woman named Kim Delaney at the Augusta hotel. That name was not found in hotel records, the report said.

Investigators announced their search for Chance on Wednesday.

The state Department of Children and Families said they are “familiar with the family” but did not elaborate due to confidentiality laws regarding abuse reports and investigations. DCF is working with the sheriff’s office, FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the search for the baby.

Grandmothers plead for cooperation

Susino and Kimberley Millwater pleaded with the accused couple to cooperate with investigators.

“We are hoping Kristen and Joseph…will do what’s right and tell us where Chance is,” Susino said during a Thursday afternoon press conference at the sheriff’s office.”We are begging anybody who has any information as to Chance’s whereabouts…to please immediately contact Crime Stoppers, Sarasota County sheriff, Child Find, the FBI or your local law enforcement.”

Holding back tears while reading from a statement, Susino also asked for help from a higher power.

“We ask for everyone for your continued prayers for Chance and for our family to find him,” she said.

Millwater stood next to Susino. She was silent, only holding a picture of Chance.

The women did not take any questions during the brief press conference.

Neighbors, friends react

Jennifer Hastings, who identified herself as a close friend of Bury’s, was pregnant alongside her.

Their children are a week apart.

Hastings said she last talked to Bury on Sunday. Bury mentioned the South Carolina vehicle wreck, and when Hastings asked if the baby was okay, her response was that “Chance was gone.”

“I asked her what she meant by that, but I never got an answer…she said she had to give him up,” Hastings said.

The thought of Chance being killed by his parents brought her to tears, Hastings said.

“I believe that anything is possible when you are intoxicated or on mind altering substance,” she said. “In their sober mind I don’t believe that they would do this but you never know when they are on something.”

Chance’s disappearance has made Hastings appreciate her infant child more, she said.

“I just hug my daughter a little bit tighter because you realize this is the world we live in… there’s nothing we can do about it,” she said.

John Tapp, who lives on the same block as the accused couple, said he thought something was odd with them. People would enter and leave their home at odd hours, he said.

“I only actually noticed one thing unsettling is they had a newborn baby and they were walking it in the stroller at 11 at night,” he said. “It’s pretty obvious that something wasn’t right and isn’t right.”

Another neighbor, Julia, who did not provide her last name, has already assumed the worst.

“I don’t know how a mother can do something like this,” she said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office at (941) 861-4074, Crime Stoppers of Sarasota County at (941) 366-TIPS or submit a tip online.