Photo of Wendy Pamela Bailey | Photo courtesy of the Fayette County Jail
The mother of missing one-year-old Kahleb Rowen Collins has been arrested and booked into the Fayette County Jail.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement:
On Dec. 9, 2024 Fayette County Sheriff's Office was notified of a missing child, Kahleb Rowan Collins. The Sheriff's office initiated an investigation into the whereabouts of Kahleb Collins. The 24 Circuit District Attorney's Office along with the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation were contacted for assistance.
Based on the results of this investigation, it is believed that he is deceased. His body has not been recovered, although law enforcement teams are still actively gathering information and searching for his remains.
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.
On Dec. 30, investigators with the Fayette County Sheriff's Office and the Alabama State Bureau of Investigations executed warrants charging Wendy Pamela Bailey, 22, with the following:
- Aggravated child abuse - Class A felony
- First-degree domestic violence - Class A felony
- Abuse of a corpse - Class C felony
- Criminally negligent homicide - Class A misdemeanor
The criminally negligent homicide charge is related to the death of Ryleigh, who was unrestrained in the vehicle Steven Collins was driving in the fatal crash.
Bailey was booked into the Fayette County Jail and is awaiting a bond hearing.
The case remains under investigation, with further charges against Bailey possible. Anyone with information that could assist in this investigation is urged to contact the Fayette County Sheriffs Office at 205-932-3205, the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-392-8011 or the District Attorney's Office at 205-367-9915.
No further information will be released at this time.
More details will be posted as they develop.