On December 8, 2024, Steven Collins, partner Wendy Bailey, and their 2-year-old daughter, Ryleigh, were involved in a car crash that killed the dad and the toddler. A day later, someone told Alabama police that the family had another child, 1-year-old Kahleb Collins, who was not in the accident. Days later, police officially declared the toddler missing. The boy’s maternal grandfather has also been arrested.
Now, a Facebook post made by the dad is resurfacing in light of the toddler being missing. In the post, he claimed the child was not in good health.
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The dad shared that his son was ill.
In a November Facebook post, Steven Bradley Collins shared an update about son Kahleb’s health. “Our son is not doing well. He is not growing and has major back issues. His organs are growing but not his body,” he wrote. “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.”
People claimed they never saw the toddler.
The family’s neighbors spoke with ABC 33/40 News. One neighbor knew the couple had a son but had only ever seen their 2-year-old daughter. When the neighbor inquired about where Kahleb was, the dad claimed the boy went to live with family because he was sick.
On the other hand, family members were told the tot had health issues and was staying with a friend of the family. According to police, the last time the toddler was seen was September 4, 2024.
The boy's grandfather has been arrested.
John Elton Bailey, father of Kahleb’s mother Wendy Bailey, allegedly lived with the family, AL.com reported. He was charged with failure to report a missing child, according to court documents.
A criminal complaint notes Bailey “failed to report a missing child by delaying to make or failing to cause to be made the report with willful and reckless disregard for the safety of the child and the child suffered serious bodily harm or death, to wit: physical injuries to the child and the child was removed from the home and taken to an unknown location and no report was made by any resident of the home,” per AL.com.
There may have also been a visit from a government agency.
John Bailey is being held at Fayette County Jail on a $100,000 bond. According to AL.com, although his attorneys didn’t respond to comment, they did file a motion “asking that DHR preserve all records involving the family to include any and all records, including video and audio recordings, of possible child abuse and neglect investigations initiated in 2024.”
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The family was involved in a horrible car crash.
According to police, Collins was driving “aggressively” on December 8 when his car crashed into a tree – 92 mph, approximately 50 mph over the speed limit, AL.com reported. Collins was trying to turn to the right during the crash. He and Bailey were ejected from the car. It was reported that no one in the car was wearing a seat belt.
