Missing infant believed to be found dead in North Port

NORTH PORT -- The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said Thursday afternoon it has recovered the body of an infant believed to be Chance Walsh, who has been missing since early September.

The remains were found at a location on Elliot Court in North Port, said Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight, in a statement released via Twitter.

"We have been investigating his disappearance since Sunday, October 4. Many people have worked tirelessly with the hope of bringing Chance home alive. The multistate investigation included federal authorities and our counterparts in South Carolina and Georgia.

"We received information directing us to a location on Elliot Court and we have confirmed our worst fears," Knight said.

Positive identification of the remains is pending an autopsy by the Medical Examiner's Office.

Chance's parents, Kristen Bury and Joseph Walsh, remain in custody in South Carolina.

On Oct. 4, the maternal grandmother of 9-week-old Chance Walsh contacted the sheriff's office because she had not seen him since Sept. 9. She and the boy's paternal grandmother made a number of unsuccessful attempts to check on Chance's welfare because his parents, Bury, 32, and Walsh, 36, are longtime drug users, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies said the family contacted law enforcement after the pair told them they were in a vehicle crash in South Carolina, but told relatives several different stories, including saying Chance was unharmed, he died in the crash and they gave him to a woman at a hotel in Georgia.

According to a release, detectives confirmed with South Carolina law enforcement, there was no baby in the vehicle at the time of the crash and no room for a car seat. The sheriff's office has charged Walsh and Bury with child neglect.

They are being held on $150,000 bond apiece in Jasper County, S.C., and awaiting extradition to Sarasota County.

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 11:54 PM with the headline "Missing infant believed to be found dead in North Port ."