Authorities only learned the child was missing for months after the boy’s father and sister were killed in a single-vehicle car crash which also seriously injured the child’s mother — who has now been hit with four charges.
Authorities in Alabama have come to a sad conclusion following the mysterious disappearance of a 1-year-old boy, who they only realized was missing after his family was involved in a fatal car crash.
On Monday, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office announced that investigators believe Kahleb Rowan Collins is deceased. “His body has not been recovered, although law enforcement are still actively gathering information and searching for his remains,” said the Sheriff.
“Investigators believe Kahleb had been deceased for some time before his disappearance was brought to the attention of law enforcement after the Dec 8. single-vehicle crash that claimed the lives of his father, Steven Bradley Collins, and two-year-old sister, Ryleigh Collins,” the new statement continued, before announcing the charges against Kahleb’s mother, Wendy Bailey.
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The 22-year-old mom was charged Monday with aggravated child abuse, first-degree domestic violence and abuse of a corpse — all felonies — as well as criminally negligent homicide, a misdemeanor. Per the sheriff, the latter charged is related to the death of Ryleigh, who they say was “unrestrained in the vehicle Steven Collins was driving in his fatal crash.”
Bailey has been booked into the Fayette County Jail, awaiting a bond hearing.
The Sheriff noted that the case remains under investigation and further charges for Bailey are possible.
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The Search for Kahleb
The saga began on December 8, when a car carrying the missing child’s father, Steven Collins, the boy’s mother, Wendy Bailey, and 2-year-old sister, RyLeigh, crashed into a tree in Fayette County. Collins and his daughter were killed, while Bailey was critically injured.
Per investigators, via an incident report seen by WBRC, the father was “driving aggressively at an extreme rate of speed,” 92 MPH, when he lost control of the vehicle, spun out and careened into the tree. Troopers noted the road was wet, while neither parent was wearing a seatbelt and the child reportedly wasn’t in a car seat; they also said the truck was being “operated aggressively” before the crash.
Collins was ejected from the truck and pronounced dead at the hospital. His daughter sustained fatal injuries during the crash, while Bailey was also “slightly ejected” and airlifted to the hospital for treatment.
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The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said it learned on December 9 that the couple in the crash “had another child,” 1-year-old Kahleb Rowan Collins, who wasn’t in the car with the rest of them. He was reported missing that day and a search began.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency later announced that Kahleb was last seen on September 4 — meaning he had actually been missing for more than three months. An Emergency Missing Child Alert has since been issued for the boy, who remains unaccounted for.
On December 11, Kahleb’s grandfather John Elton Bailey — who was reportedly living with his daughter’s family — was arrested and charged with failing to report a missing child. He’s reportedly still behind bars at the Fayette County Jail.
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Neighbors also told the local ABC affiliate that Steven told them their son “had gone to live with relatives because he was sick.” Family members, meanwhile, said they were told the boy had health issues.
On November 6, after authorities say the child was last seen, Steven shared a post about his son to Facebook.
“Our son is not doing well. He is not growing and has major back issues,” he wrote at the time. “His organs are growing but not his body. He has to have surgery at some point. Keep him in your prayers. Been rough and just seems going to be a long rough tough road ahead of us.”
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