Police in Alabama are searching for a 1-year-old boy who was last seen in September. The boy wasn’t reported as missing until early December, when the other members of his family were involved in a car crash. The crash left his father and sibling dead, while his mother is in critical condition.
Authorities are now holding an emergency search for the boy while questioning other family members. His paternal grandfather, who lived with the family, has been brought into police custody, but so far, there are no leads on the boy’s whereabouts.
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The family was in a car crash in early December.
On December 8, 2024, several family members of 1-year-old Kahleb Collins were in a deadly car crash. Father Steven Collins and sister Ryleigh Collins were killed in the crash. His mother, Wendy Bailey, survived the crash and was airlifted to UAB Hospital, where she is currently in the ICU, WIAT reported. The outlet reported that Steven and 2-year-old Ryleigh Collins weren’t wearing seat belts while in the car.
Kahleb was not at the scene, and authorities didn't know he existed.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office reported that on December 9, law enforcement learned that Steven Collins and Bailey had another child together who was unaccounted for after the car crash. ABC 33/40 spoke with neighbors who reported not seeing the boy, despite knowing he existed. The neighbors claimed that they never saw Kahleb, only the daughter.
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No one seems to know what could have happened to Kahleb.
Neighbors told the outlet that when they asked the family about what happened to the boy, they were told he was sick and staying with family. Family claimed that they were told Kahleb had health issues and was staying with a friend of the family. According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the boy was last seen alive on September 4, WVTM reported.
So far, one family member has been questioned.
ABC 33/40 reported that John Elton Bailey, the boy’s maternal grandfather, was arrested on December 11, and is being held on a $100,000 bond for failing to report a missing child. Kahleb isn’t named specifically in the court documents, but they state that Bailey had a duty to report the boy missing, and didn’t. Allegedly, John Bailey lived with the family.
There is evidence that the state was working with the family in some capacity.
According to documents WBRC obtained, the Alabama Department of Human Resources was somehow involved with the family. It is unclear what exactly the department was doing with the family, and due to privacy laws, the information is protected.
The outlet also reported that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency issued an Emergency Missing Child Alert for Kahleb on December 17, more than a week after the boy was reported as “unaccounted for,” and almost a week after John Bailey’s arrest.
