North Carolina woman arrested nearly 50 years after baby found dead in trash bag at landfill

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

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office announced Feb. 25 that Cathy McKee, 69, of Whiteville, North Carolina was arrested and charged with felony concealing the birth of a child. McKee was identified through DNA testing as the infant’s mother.

The investigation began in 1979 after the newborn’s body was discovered at a Columbus County landfill.