Woman arrested after abducted S.C. child abandoned outside for hours

FLORENCE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Documents are providing more details about the search for a one-year-old girl in the Pee Dee late Thursday.

The Florence Police Department says 32-year-old Macie Eaddy faces kidnapping and other charges related to the child’s abduction.

An arrest warrant for Eaddy’s kidnapping charge cites video footage from Thursday night showing Eaddy and the child leaving Roses Department Store on South Irby Street. The two were seen entering a 2012 Mitsibushi Lancer, which belonged to the child’s mother.

Officials said the child’s mother ed the Florence Police Department Thursday night, saying she went shopping with Eaddy. Around 6 p.m., Eaddy reportedly went to wait outside and offered to take the child to the car. The mother agreed and police said that after she finished shopping, the mother learned Eaddy had taken her child and her car.

This led to the overnight search for the child and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division issuing an Amber Alert.

Eaddy allegedly drove off and left the child outside at a location on Cale Yarborough Highway in a child restraint at around 8 p.m. Thursday. The warrant states the child was found by a nearby homeowner at around 7 a.m. Friday and taken to a hospital for treatment.

The child was left in near-freezing temperatures, as conditions dipped into the 30s overnight.

“You’re just going to leave a baby abandoned like that? Like, what if the baby would have ran in the road, or it got hit, or something or even worse? But as far as I know, the baby is fine,” said Brittni Miles, a friend of the mother who spoke to WMBF News on Friday.

Authorities also said the child appeared to be OK and was being checked out at the hospital. The Amber Alert was also canceled once the child was located.

Eaddy, meanwhile, was arrested in Sumter County after being spotted in the car.

Eaddy reportedly told Sumter County deputies that she dropped the child off at an apartment complex in Florence with a mutual friend of hers and the mother.

Authorities booked Eaddy at the Sumter County Detention Center, where she is being held for extradition to Florence County. At the time of her arrest, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said Eaddy had outstanding warrants out of Florence County, was driving under suspension and had suspected methamphetamine.

All while those closest to the situation are still grappling with the aftermath.

“Be careful who your children are around, because everybody’s not your friend,” said Dakota Collins, another friend of the mother who spoke to WMBF News.

SLED TIMELINE

SLED also provided a timeline Friday afternoon of its investigation into the case:

• At around 6 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2025, the child was abducted by Eaddy from the Roses store parking lot in Florence.
• The investigation has since revealed that the child was likely dropped off at a residence in Timmonsville at around 8:30 p.m. on January 2, 2025. The residence appears to have no connection to the child, the child’s mother, or to the subject. The investigation revealed the resident of the home reported hearing a car horn outside blow multiple times, then saw a car leaving the driveway at around that time.
• At approximately 9 p.m., three hours after the child was abducted, the mother of the child reported the child missing to the Florence Police Department.
• At 12:02 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2025, SLED received the initial request from the Florence Police Department that a child had been abducted and assistance was being requested.
• At 1:21 a.m. SLED sent a law enforcement bulletin to all law enforcement in South Carolina and bordering counties in surrounding states.
• From 12:02 a.m. until 4:20 a.m., SLED working in conjunction with the Florence Police Department and the FBI, utilized multiple resources in an attempt to locate the child at known addresses for the subject.
• At 4:20 a.m. sufficient information was gathered during the investigation by SLED, the Florence Police Department and the FBI to meet the criteria to issue the Amber Alert.
• From 4:20 a.m. until the alert was issued at 5:38 a.m., SLED coordinated with AMBER Alert partners, including the South Carolina Department of Transportation, the radio station WCOS, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Weather Service, to ensure the alert would be widely shared.
• At 5:38 a.m. the Amber Alert was issued.
• At 6:50 a.m. the child was found in a carrier seat in the driveway of the Timmonsville homeowner. The homeowner does not appear to have any connection to the child, the child’s mother or the subject. The child had a temperature of 90 degrees and required medical attention.
• Just before 7 a.m., Eaddy was located and apprehended by deputies from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office after receiving a tip from a citizen who saw the vehicle listed in the Amber Alert.

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