South Carolina Baby Dead after Reported Kidnapping, Mother in Custody

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A Chesterfield woman has been taken into custody as the primary suspect in the death of her 1-year-old Harlee Lane Lewis.

Deputies were dispatched to Jackson Road East outside of Chesterfield around 2 p.m. Tuesday in reference to a kidnapping and assault.

According to police, a 19-year-old female reported she was walking to check her mailbox around 2 p.m. when a tan and gold colored SUV stopped in the middle of the road and a white male wearing a black coat, toboggan and one black glove got out of the vehicle and punched her multiple times in the head.

She described the man as being around 6-foot-2 inches tall, saying he grabbed her 1-year-old child and left in an SUV. She said she had never seen the suspect who assaulted her before.

Deputies responding to the scene performed a search of the area, finding the body of the infant hidden inside a diaper box about 1,000 yards from the home.

The mother was then taken into custody and is being questioned, along with other family members, according to the police department.

Her name is not being released at this time as no formal charges have been made as of 5:45 p.m. Tuesday.

The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are assisting in the investigation.

South Carolina authorities have canceled an AMBER Alert for an 11-month-old girl reportedly kidnapped from her mother's arms Tuesday in Chesterfield County.

The child has been found dead, according to the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office.

Greg Suskin, a reporter for ABC affiliate WSOC-TV in Charlotte, first reported that the child's mother has been taken into custody.


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