Zahra Clare Baker 10, last seen 2:30am at home, Hickory, NC #1 10/10/10-10/13/10

[klaasend]

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/amber-alert-missing-hickory-north-carolina-girl-zahra-clare-baker/19668001




Amber Alert Issued for North Carolina Girl
Updated: 2 hours 11 minutes ago

AOL News
(Oct. 10) - An Amber Alert was issued Saturday afternoon for 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker of Hickory, N.C.

Authorities in North Carolina are searching for 10-year-old Zahra Claire Baker, who was reported missing from her home Saturday.
Zahra, who is hearing impaired, was last seen around 2:30 a.m. sleeping in her bedroom that morning, WRAL.com reported. She is 5 feet, 1 inch tall, weighs 85 pounds and has a prosthetic leg below her left knee.

She was last seen wearing a camouflage T-shirt and black knee-length tights.

If you have any information, please call the Hickory, N.C., Police Department at 828-328-5551, or call 911.

[klaasend]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/10/north.carolina.missing.girl/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

Police: Stranger abduction 'less likely' in N.C. missing girl case
By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    * Girl's stepmother arrested on unrelated charges
    * Police are "deeply concerned" for missing girl's welfare


(CNN) -- Authorities said Sunday that "a stranger abduction is less likely than once anticipated" in the case of a missing 10-year-old North Carolina girl.

Zahra Clare Baker was reported to have last been seen sleeping in her bedroom at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday. She was reported missing at from her Hickory, North Carolina, home about 2 p.m. Saturday by her father, Adam Baker, and stepmother, Elisa Baker.

"Although nothing is being ruled out at this point, there have been details that have surfaced in the past 12 hours indicating that a stranger abduction is less likely than once anticipated," Hickory police said in a statement Sunday.

An Amber Alert was issued for Zahra on Saturday and will remain in effect until the girl is located, police said. "We are deeply concerned for the welfare of Zahra but remain hopeful that we will locate her safe and unharmed," the statement said.

The Bakers were interviewed early in the investigation, and investigators are following leads to corroborate statements the two made to authorities, police said.

Elisa Baker was arrested Sunday morning "on outstanding charges not related to this case," the statement said. "Inconsistencies developed over the course of this investigation have not eliminated her as a person of interest."

Zahra is described as being about 5 foot 1 inch tall and weighing 85 pounds. She has a prosthetic left leg, and also is hearing impaired, requiring hearing aids that she does not have with her, police said.

The FBI was assisting Hickory police in the investigation, officials said. Members of the public who have information were asked to contact the Hickory Police Department.

[klaasend]

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/8429135/



Posted: 12:27 p.m. today
Updated: 37 minutes ago
Stepmother of missing Hickory girl arrested

Hickory, N.C. — The stepmother of a missing Hickory girl was arrested Sunday morning on outstanding charges unrelated to the 10-year-old's disappearance.

Police said details that have emerged in the past 12 hours make it seem less likely that a stranger abducted Zahra Clare Baker, who was reported missing a day earlier by her father, Adam, and stepmother, Elisa.

Elisa Baker was arrested on unrelated, outstanding charges around 10:45 a.m., police said. Details of those charges weren't released.

Police said Elisa Baker has not been eliminated as a person of interest in Zahra's disappearance.

They didn't release details of the ongoing investigation, but said it has revealed "inconsistencies." The father and stepmother were interviewed early in the investigation, and police were following up leads to corroborate their statements.

Elisa and Adam Barker reported Zahra missing around 2 p.m. Saturday. They said they had last seen her in sleeping in her bedroom at 21 21st Ave. NW around 2:30 a.m., police said.

"We continue to have concerns for her well-being," Libby Grigg, assistant to the Hickory police chief, said in a statement. "We are deeply concerned for the welfare of Zahra but remain hopeful that we will locate her safe and unharmed."

A statewide Amber Alert issued Saturday for Zahra remains in effect. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was assisting in the search for her.

Zahra is described as a white girl, about 5 feet 1 inches tall and weighing 85 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a camouflage Army T-shirt and black knee-length tights, and she has a prosthetic left leg below the knee. She is hearing-impaired but does not have her hearing aids with her.

No information about any potential abductor has been released.

Anyone with information about Zahra's whereabouts is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551 or call 911 or *HP.

[klaasend]

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/



Published: October 10, 2010

Amber alert for missing Hickory girl
By Hickory Record Staff

Police are searching for missing 10-year-old Zahra Claire Baker. She was last seen sleeping in her bed around 2:30 a.m. She was reported missing around 2 p.m, said police.

Police are continuing to searching for missing 10-year-old Zahra Claire Baker. She was reported missing around 2 p.m Saturday, said police.

She was discovered missing Saturday afternoon.
The girl's parents told police she was last seen sleeping in her bed around 2:30 a.m. They reported her missing around 2 p.m., said police.
Her parents said they searched for the girl for an hour before reporting her missing.
She was last seen wearing a camouflage army T-shirt, black knee length tights and has a left prosthetic leg below the knee. Police said that her prosthetic leg was not found in the home.
Her parents said this is uncharacteristic of her, according to police.
Zahra is white, about 5 feet, 1 inches tall, weighs 85 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes. She is hearing impaired.
Hickory police Captain Thurman Whisnant said half of the detectives in the department are searching for her now, in addition to the regular patrol units.
"We're concerned for her safety. We feel this is a suspicious crime, and we are looking into it," said Whisnant.
Police ask that anyone with any information, please call the Hickory Police at 828-328-5551 or call 911.

Richard Gould contributed to the report.

[klaasend]

Her parents last saw her at 2:30AM and didn't report her missing until 2PM the next day?  You mean she missed breakfast and lunch and they didn't think to look for her until 2pm?   

[4 Donks]

Sure would like to know the charges against the SM. Also strange that there are no interviews with Bio mom, relatives or neighbours.
Was she home schooled or in public school? So many questions.

[Nana29]

Her parents last saw her at 2:30AM and didn't report her missing until 2PM the next day?  You mean she missed breakfast and lunch and they didn't think to look for her until 2pm?   

 


That was the first thing that popped out at me...WTH!   If I am reading correctly, she is hearing impaired and has a prosthetic left leg below the knee...some major health issues, IMO.  Wouldn't you think she would be checked on a lot more often?

You stated in the Kyron thread, not a good feeling about this one..

I second that thought. I find a "stepmother" involvement (again)foreboding as well...        Maybe she got tired of caring for  Zahra's special needs.

[klaasend]

http://www.helpfindmychild.net/zahra-baker

[klaasend]

Sure would like to know the charges against the SM. Also strange that there are no interviews with Bio mom, relatives or neighbours.
Was she home schooled or in public school? So many questions.

Just trying to find stuff now so I don't know any answers to your questions.

[klaasend]

New video from this morning:

[klaasend]

Local twitter link for news updates in the case

http://twitter.com/WSOC_TV

[Claycat]

Oh, No! 

[Claycat]

Even if she were still alive somewhere, she probably couldn't hear anyone calling for her!   

[4 Donks]

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2010/oct/10/police-deeply-concerned-about-welfare-missing-girl-ar-448453/Police are continuing their search for a 10-year-old girl who was reported missing at 2 p.m. Saturday. Officers have searched the girl’s northwest Hickory neighborhood with K-9 units but they have not found Zahara Clare Baker.

Maria Claxton, of a local search dog team, led her dog behind crime scene tape and throughout the stacks of firewood and brush in the Bakers’ backyard while their pit bulls strained at their leashes and whined. Then she took the dog to the Bakers’ Chevy Suburban and Toyota Celica, into the crawl space under the family’s house and inside the home. The search turned up nothing.

Zahara’s father and stepmother, Adam and Elisa Baker reported her missing from her home at 21 21st Avenue NW, and told police they’d last seen her sleeping in her bed at about 2:20 a.m. Saturday.

Police interviewed the Bakers for several hours early in the investigation and officers are working to corroborate their statements.

They were allowed to leave the police station after their interview. During their investigation, officers discovered inconsistencies in the Bakers’ story and the couple has not been ruled out as suspects in their daughter’s disappearance.

Elisa Baker was arrested at about 10:45 a.m. Sunday on nine unrelated warrants and charges.

    * Six counts of worthless checks in Catawba County
    * Six counts of worthless checks in Caldwell County
    * Failure to return rental property in Caldwell County
    * Larceny by employee in Burke County
    * Failure to appear on three counts of communicating threats in Caldwell County
    * Failure to appear on charges of driving without a license and unsafe tires in Caldwell County

Police initially suspected that a stranger might have abducted Zahara. New information has surfaced and stranger abduction appears less likely, though no possibilities have been ruled out at this point, said Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins.

Zahara is about 5-feet 1-inch tall and weighs about 85 pounds. She is deaf and has a prosthetic left leg. Her prosthesis is missing, but her hearing aids were left behind in her home.

“It is highly uncharacteristic for her to leave home without her hearing aids,” said Captain Thurman Whisnant of the Hickory Police Department. “According to the interviews we’ve conducted, it’s very unlikely for her to leave her house without her parents.”

“We are deeply concerned for the welfare of Zahara, but remain hopeful that we will locate her safe and unharmed,” Adkins said.

The FBI is assisting Hickory Police Investigators in their search for Zahara. An Amber Alert will be in place until she is found.

Zahara’s biological mother is an Australian native and has not seen her daughter since she was about eight months old. She is believed to be in Australia and is not considered a suspect, Whisnant said.

Anyone with information about Zahara’s whereabouts is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at 328-5551.

[Claycat]

I wonder why she's with people like that instead of her mother. 

[no rose colored glasses]

Her parents last saw her at 2:30AM and didn't report her missing until 2PM the next day?  You mean she missed breakfast and lunch and they didn't think to look for her until 2pm?   

OMG at first I thought it was a misprint, so like twelve hours later they figured the child was missing? Hearing impaired and a prosthetic leg and they what just figured she was sleeping all that time? Did they not think to look in case she was ill or worse? This is not going to end well 

[cw618]

Oh, No! 

is right

hearing impaired and has a prosthetic left leg below the knee

She was discovered missing Saturday afternoon.
The girl's parents told police she was last seen sleeping in her bed around 2:30 a.m. They reported her missing around 2 p.m., said police.
Her parents said they searched for the girl for an hour before reporting her missing.

news caster interviews cop, and cop says Zahra, left her hearing aids behind on nitestand around ;30sec, and at ;10sec the newscaster says in his description
of her she has a prosthetic left leg below the knee

the pics of her the first one she is crying, you can see a tear near her left
nostrial, and just a little down from the bridge of her nose on the right
is another tear, and a runny nose, in the next pic she is putting a hearing
aid in, both pics no smiles

i know 3 people 2 adults one child 14yrs old, they do not sleep with
their prosthetics, to uncomfortable, and will make the knee sore
it needs a cup/sock, and the skin to breath at least once a day

below the knee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJwN_EUYRYQ
at the knee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edlaj3plZQE&feature=related

cry
http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=8782.msg1244261#msg1244261
hearing aid
http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=8782.msg1244273#msg1244273

[no rose colored glasses]

cw618 I agree from working with the elderly for many, many years, not one was ever helped getting ready for bed and put in bed with a prosthetic limb. Thank-you for pointing that out.

[klaasend]

http://charlotte.news14.com/content/top_stories/631325/fbi-called-in-to-investigate-disappearance-of-hickory-girl

4:53 PM
FBI called in to investigate disappearance of Hickory girl

By: News 14 Carolina Staff

HICKORY, N.C-- The FBI has been called in to help investigate the the disappearance of Zahra Caire Baker, 10, of Hickory.

Hickory police said on Sunday nothing has been ruled out, but an abduction by a stranger now looks less likely. Zahra Baker's parents said they last saw her sleeping in her bedroom at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday.

They reported her missing at 1:59 p.m., nearly 12 hours later telling investigators they thought she was still sleeping. Police said they've questioned Zahra's father and step-mother and are working to corroborate their statements.

On Sunday, step-mother Elisa Baker was arrested on outstanding charges not related to the case, including larceny by an employee, two counts of communicating threats and six counts of worthless checks.

Police said the girl's father seems to be cooperating with investigators. The Amber Alert will stay in place until Zahra Baker is found. She is five feet tall. She has brown hair, blue eyes and a prosthetic left leg. If you know anything that could help police you're asked to call 911.

[klaasend]

Click on the photo below to watch the video of Zahra getting fitted for her hearing aides.  She looks like such a cute little girl: