Permanent headstone placed for ‘Baby Grace’

A permanent headstone made possible by donations from the community was set for “Baby Grace” at her resting place at Hillcrest Cemetery in Conway on Wednesday afternoon.

“It felt good to see that the community and people donated for that,” Hillcrest groundskeeper Dennis Cronin said after he and Jerrod Lovett, Hillcrest maintenance worker, installed “Baby Grace’s” lasting memorial stone. “It was nice to see people cared enough to give their money and give her a proper monument.”

Grace Carlson Santa Cruz, who came to be known by the community as “Baby Grace,” drowned Nov. 3 after being taken into the Socastee creek by her mother Sarah Toney, who is charged with homicide by child abuse in connection with the 5-month-old’s death.

“It’s a little emotional. Especially when it’s a child as she was that went through a tragic event,” Lovett said of the stone placement process.

“Baby Grace” was laid to rest Nov. 18, and her burial service was led by Horry County Police Chaplain Dennis Williams and attended by police, Horry County coroners and those who had searched for her after she was taken into the creek.

A temporary wooden marker previously had been set at her grave, but it wasn’t built to last out in the elements and a permanent stone was needed. Hillcrest Cemetery began collecting funds for the permanent marker in November and on Dec. 9 announced it had the money needed to order the stone.

About 30 donors made up of residents and businesses helped raise the $2,150 needed to order a lasting memorial for her, Hillcrest Cemetery officials said.

Stephanie Cutler, a Myrtle Beach resident who stepped up to be an advocate for “Baby Grace” by helping to organize a candlelit vigil in her honor, helped spur the fund collection by posting Hillcrest’s donation information on “Prayers for Baby Grace” – a Facebook page she created.

“In some way, it’s [the stone placement] like a closure. … By the community, she has been taken care of and allowed closure instead of left lingering,” said Robyn Jones, Hillcrest family services and sales counselor.

Jones said she hates to see any grave left unmarked and was glad to have a memorial and sense of closure for “Baby Grace.”

“It’s a memorial for her and a place where people can go to memorialize her and her life - to me that’s what a memorial in itself is. It not only denotes the location of where someone is buried and has been laid to rest, but it’s also a place where memory lives on,” Jones said.

Cronin and Lovett worked with a mix of professionalism and delicacy as they carefully moved all the toys and tribute items left for “Baby Grace” during the installation process, gently dusting bits of grass off each one whenever the items were moved.

“Any time when you have kids at home it makes you think – definitely,” Lovett said after helping place the headstone. “That’s the hardest part of the job, but we do it professionally to make sure people get the respect they deserve.”

Cronin said they handle all graves with care and respect, but emotion is largely removed when a person’s back-story and the circumstances of their death are unknown; however, it was different Wednesday afternoon when a face and a tragedy were connected to their task.

“I’m glad she got her marker and is resting in peace,” Lovett said.

Toney remains jailed at J. Reuben Long Detention Center; she was indicted Dec. 17 on the homicide by child abuse charge. Her case is in the discovery process, meaning information is being gathered and reviewed as Toney awaits trial, officials said.

Following a nearly three-day search, “Baby Grace” was found submerged in the creek by rescue divers about 50 yards from where Toney entered the water on Simms Drive in Socastee.

Horry County police began searching for the missing baby at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 3 after officers were called by a resident of Shem Creek Circle in Socastee who said Toney showed up at the resident’s home drenched and saying she put her baby in the creek, authorities said.

An autopsy performed Nov. 6 at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston revealed the manner of death was homicide, but the exact cause was yet to be determined until it was released as drowning on Jan. 7 by Darris Fowler, Horry County deputy coroner.

A memorial service and blessing of the stone will be held by the Horry County Coroner’s Office at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hillcrest Cemetery.

This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Permanent headstone placed for ‘Baby Grace’."