Bond denied for mom of 5-month-old baby lost in creek

SOCASTEE, SC (WPDE) — Bond was denied for Sarah Toney, the mother of a missing 5-month-old girl named Grace, by an Horry County Magistrate Judge Aaron Butler Thursday morning. Toney has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child as a result of her actions that led to Grace being lost in a Socastee creek, according to Lt. Raul Denis with Horry County police. During the hearing Toney asked if her daughter had been found and said she had gone in to the water with her daughter, but couldn’t hold on to her. Horry County Solicitor Scott Hixon asked the judge to deny bond because of her criminal past and because they believed she was a flight risk. Through a SLED background check, we found that Toney has a long list of charges including criminal domestic violence, drug charges, driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, shoplifting, giving false information, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and malicious damage to property. The majority are misdemeanor charges, with a few felony charges. Her record dates back to 2008. She is currently on probation for one of her more recent convictions of shoplifting and a misdemeanor drug charge. During the hearing Thursday morning, Toney appeared restless while waiting for the judge. After the hearing had to be told to stay in her seat several times while waiting in a nearby room. She stood and appeared to try and hide from camera crews after the hearing a few times, and held her hands to her face several times, rubbing her eyes. Horry County police, with assistance from Horry County Fire Rescue and The CUE Center for Missing Persons and several other agencies, are continuing to search for Grace. “We will continue to search the creeks, woods, and waterways in that area until we find Baby Grace,” police said. “Finding Baby Grace is our priority and we hope to be successful very soon.” The search for Grace started at around 10 a.m. on Tuesday after police got a call from a homeowner on Shem Creek Circle who said she found a woman on her back porch who told her she went in to the river with her baby, but the woman no longer had a baby with her, Denis said. Denis said an investigation revealed that “circumstances unfolded at a residence on Simms Drive, about 1/4 mile from that Shem Creek Circle location, in which the woman ultimately lost her baby in the rushing creek behind the residence.” Toney, 33, of Myrtle Beach, was initially arrested on an outstanding, unrelated, warrant and detained, according to Lt. Denis. On Wednesday she was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. It was revealed during the hearing Thursday morning that Toney does not have custody of her other daughter. A preliminary hearing is set to take place on this case on Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. Courtesy of WPDE