DNA links 69-year-old woman to baby found dead at landfill in 1979, NC cops say
A “heartbreaking” mystery involving a dead baby found at a landfill has been solved 47 years later with DNA testing, according to investigators in eastern North Carolina.
On Tuesday, 69-year-old Cathy McKee of Whiteville was arrested and charged with felony concealing the birth of a child, the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 25 news release.
McKee was the child’s mother, officials said. How the baby died has not been revealed.
Court documents list the offense date as Jan. 11, 1979, when McKee would have been 21-years old.
“The investigation began in 1979, when the body of a newborn baby girl was discovered inside a trash bag at the Columbus County landfill,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Deputies and investigators responded and conducted an extensive investigation, but despite their efforts, all leads were eventually exhausted, leaving unanswered questions that would remain for decades. But the case was never forgotten.”
A new generation of detectives renewed efforts to solve the mystery in 2025, working with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and a forensic genealogist to apply new DNA technology to the evidence, officials said.
Investigators did not release details of how DNA from McKee made its way into the database for a comparison.
“For 47 years, this baby girl’s story was carried forward — passed from one generation of investigators to the next,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Some who first worked the scene are still remembered today; others have since retired, moved on, or passed away. Yet the responsibility they felt in that moment did not fade. The case remained one that weighed heavily on those who knew of it — a quiet reminder that somewhere in Columbus County’s history was a child who deserved to be remembered and whose story deserved answers.”
Whiteville is about a 115-mile drive south from downtown Raleigh.
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 7:13 AM with the headline "DNA links 69-year-old woman to baby found dead at landfill in 1979, NC cops say."