Zahra Clare Baker #2 10/13/10 - 10/16/10

[4myjoey]

http://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode=detail&articleID=13862

Search Continues for Zahra Baker
10/14/2010 6:15:15 AM

Investigators in Catawba, Caldwell and Burke counties continue to search for 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker.

Authorities once again checked a brush pile at Real Tree Services in Morganton, where Zahra’s father was employed.  A pond next to that property was also searched.

A K-9 unit again went over the property around Zahra’s home at 21 21st Avenue N.E. in Hickory.  Investigators also took a dumpster from a nearby restaurant in order to search its contents.

Anyone with information should call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551.

If Zahra never made it to the house they live in now, they could have disposed of her belongings along the way, which could be the reason why their searching the dumpster.

[mymonkey]

http://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode=detail&articleID=13862

Search Continues for Zahra Baker
10/14/2010 6:15:15 AM

Investigators in Catawba, Caldwell and Burke counties continue to search for 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker.

Authorities once again checked a brush pile at Real Tree Services in Morganton, where Zahra’s father was employed.  A pond next to that property was also searched.

A K-9 unit again went over the property around Zahra’s home at 21 21st Avenue N.E. in Hickory.  Investigators also took a dumpster from a nearby restaurant in order to search its contents.

Anyone with information should call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551.

If Zahra never made it to the house they live in now, they could have disposed of her belongings along the way, which could be the reason why their searching the dumpster.

I would like to know if there were any school books in the home to prove she was being home schooled...and where are her clothes...did she have belongings in the new home.

[Monkey King]

I just heard on a local television station, on a brief news report, that the father of the missing Newcastle girl in the United States, is no longer co-operating with the police.  It was just a brief report in between shows.

I expected this

I was surprised he was still co-opererating when he can pick up a paper and read that they don't feel he's being truthful and isn't sincere. He thought he was fooling everyone by doing what he thought looked like full co-operation. When le no longer believes you, there is no need in putting up that front anymore. What really surprised me is le saying that they weren't buying into it, publicly. I would think they would be worried that this might make him flee.

No Longer?

If he was co-operating to begin with, they would have Zahra by now! 

He hasn't been co-operatiing at all.  He's just been sitting around while LE's been digging through wood piles, draining lakes, looking for his daughter that he convienently doesn't "know" where she is.

 

[Claycat]

I just heard on a local television station, on a brief news report, that the father of the missing Newcastle girl in the United States, is no longer co-operating with the police.  It was just a brief report in between shows.

I expected this

I was surprised he was still co-opererating when he can pick up a paper and read that they don't feel he's being truthful and isn't sincere. He thought he was fooling everyone by doing what he thought looked like full co-operation. When le no longer believes you, there is no need in putting up that front anymore. What really surprised me is le saying that they weren't buying into it, publicly. I would think they would be worried that this might make him flee.

They've got his passport.  He won't be going out of the country.

[Claycat]

Didn't Mr. Coffey talk about knowing Zahra?  I wonder if he met her after she moved into his house or before.  That would be one way to find out if she ever lived in the new house.  I imagine the police have asked him this question.  I hope they have.

[mariloo]

FBI need to go back to the place where they moved from and check with school to see if any reported abuse or any problems there.  They should check the previous home and surroundings with cadaver dogs, etc.  Wonder if dear old dad has been showing up for work or if he has been fired in connection with the ransom note?  Somehow, someone can remember when the girl was last seen.  I am thinking as others are that she never made it to the new house.  Nobody has seen her at the new house, right?????

Evil people.  Stepmom will crack if they can keep her long enough, especially if LE will let some of the general population get close enough to her to call her names or something.  Just hoping and praying.......

[Monkey King]

They probably have her in isolation with a camera.  A lot of the time when people that are "users" come in, they sleep most of the time.  Sometimes, the medical staff will give them something to take the edge off, depending what they're coming off of, like a benadryl.

You don't want to be sick in county jail.  Occassionally, you'll get someone in there with a lot of medical problems and medications and the county doesn't want to pay for it and they try and get you out.  Elisa is probably claiming everything and anything.

I wonder if she's nut up in there yet.  Once that door closes, life as you know it is over.

[mariloo]

I just saw the news here in NC and they just reported that. There was human remains and blood on the equipment. It was on news 1s. Sorry have no link but she was live. Has anyone else heard that?

Is this for real??????????????  Are we still talking bout the Zahra case????  What channel (call letters) were you watching? 

[Northern Rose]

Elisa Baker's son speaks out at vigil for missing Zahra (video)

http://www.wcnc.com/home/Elisa-Bakers-son-speaks-out-at-vigil-for-missing-Zahra--104914834.html

[Northern Rose]

Child advocacy expert weighs in on Zahra Baker case (video)
http://www.wcnc.com/video/featured-videos/Child-advocacy-expert-weighs-in-on-Zahra-Baker-case-104903544.html

[Northern Rose]

Crews search pond for Zahra Baker, come up empty (with video)

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. -- Late Wednesday afternoon, firetrucks arrived at an area that police and canine units have been searching in connection with the disappearance of Zahra Baker. Crews unrolled hoses and started draining a pond on the property they've been searching for the past two days.

Hickory police say officers, search dogs involved in previous efforts and additional search dogs returned to and expanded the search area on Wednesday afternoon.

But nearly five hours later, with the pond empty, police were still left trying to figure out where Zhara Baker is.

Tuesday, they focused investigation efforts on one area, near a brush pile.

Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt said approximately 50 investigators were on scene Tuesday, watching as a backhoe cleared brush.

The land searched belongs to the family of a foreman at the tree trimming company where Zahra's father, Adam, works. It is an area where mulch, wood chips, and heavy equipment are all stored.

Bobby Green, a former employee of the company, says Baker would have had access there.

Alvin Webb, who lives next door, told NewsChannel 36 a deputy told him a cadaver dog smelled human remains on a mulch pile and on a wood chipper on the property. McDevitt said Tuesday night there have been "many hits" but none that he would call conclusive.

This is not the only area police are investigating.  Officers say they have investigators checking into different addresses where the Baker's have lived as well as officers searching in two other counties. A number of leads have been called in, and officers say they're following up on every tip.

 http://www.wcnc.com/news/Police-return-to-Burke-County-search-site-104880109.html

[Northern Rose]

Zahra Baker's grandmother: 'We want our darling girl back'



The grandmother of Zahra Baker, the 10-year-old girl who is missing and a presumed homicide victim, has told an Australian newspaper that her family is "stunned and shocked" by what has happened to the little girl.

And a friend told the newspaper that Zahra is "the most determined little girl I have ever met."

Zahra was reported missing last Saturday by her father, Adam Baker, and her stepmother, Elisa Baker, who now live in Hickory. But Hickory police say it has been a month since anyone outside the household has seen the girl, and police Chief Tom Adkins has described the case as a homicide investigation.

Zahra Baker was born in the small Australian town of Wagga Wagga, about 200 miles west of Sydney.

Her paternal grandparents, Karen and Tony Baker, lived a short distance north of Sydney, in the coastal town of Newcastle. But they moved in May 2004 to Giru, several hundred miles farther north, along the northeast coast of Australia.

Adam, one of their four sons, moved to Giru about the same time with Zahra. The girl's biological mother was not part of her upbringing, family members have said.

Karen Baker told the Bulletin, a newspaper based in Townsville, a large city near Giru, that she was responsible for much of Zahra's upbringing, caring for the child while her father worked in a nearby sugar mill.

Shortly after starting at Giru State School, Zahra was diagnosed with cancer. She lost her leg and much of her hearing to the illness and was out of school for a year, according to the Townsville Bulletin.

Residents of Giru raised enough money to buy a laptop computer and software, so Zahra could keep up with her schoolwork.

One of those residents, Kim Wright, told the newspaper that she became a good friend of the family after meeting Zahra at a fund raising event. She described the young girl as determined to overcome her physical problems.

"She was going to still do everything she could, despite not having her leg or her hearing," she told the Bulletin.

"People say she has had a rough trot, but she never believed that for a second."

Karen Baker told the newspaper she has spoken several times with her son Adam and says he is devastated by what has happened to Zahra.

"I can only imagine what poor Adam is going through," she said. "He really loved her, and there is no way he would ever hurt her."

Baker added, "Adam is obviously very upset, but he is holding up."

The story was published Tuesday, and it is unclear if Baker and Wright knew the case had changed from a "missing person" to a "homicide" investigation when they were interviewed by the newspaper.

Baker said she and her husband "want our darling girl back safe and sound."

Wright told the newspaper, "I just want to get on a plane right now and get over there and help look for her.

"She can't be gone."



http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/10/14/1761256/zahras-grandmother-we-want-our.html

[Monkey King]

There was a guy on Nancy Grace last night and he said the leg itself would have tore up the wood chipper because it is made from titanium.

[Northern Rose]

Investigators Search For Missing Zahra Continues

HICKORY, N.C. -- Channel 9 has been able to confirm from police that the missing Hickory girl, Zahra Clare Baker, did make the move to Hickory with her family from Sawmills and have confirmed that she was alive as recently as mid September.

Police are still working to narrow their timeline since the 10-year-old disabled girl went missing.

Police said that the father, Adam Baker, has been 100 percent cooperative and has spent the majority of his time with investigators.

Police also told Channel 9 that they have more search warrants but those court documents have been sealed by a judge. They have confirmed those documents involve searches of computer and phone records.

Investigators said they have received hundreds of tips and they are prioritizing those tips working with the SBI, FBI, U.S. Marshals, and consultants with the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.

Police said they have searched four different properties in Caldwell County where the family lived and plan on looking at those properties possibly again Thursday.

Investigators drained a pond and used a dog to sniff through piles of mulch and tree-trimming equipment on Wednesday searching for the remains of a 10-year-old as neighbors and friends who had feared for her safety used a vigil to encourage people to report child abuse.

Zahra, who used hearing aids and a prosthetic leg because of bone cancer, was reported missing over the weekend by her father and stepmother. But police said they think she is dead and that they don't believe the couple's story about the last time she was seen in her bed in Hickory.

Her stepmother, Elisa Baker, is jailed, accused of trying to throw off investigators with a fake ransom note. She also faces charged unrelated to the case.

She showed little emotion as she faced a judge over an obstruction charge that could bring her up to 30 months in prison if convicted. Her court-appointed attorney, Scott Reilly, said she was "scared to death" and very emotional about everything.

"She's upset about being held in jail. She's upset about being away from her family," he said.

At a vigil Wednesday night, about 150 people sang religious songs, held hands and implored each other to love their children and report signs of child abuse to authorities. The case has disturbed Hickory, a city of about 40,000 residents.

David King, a deacon at East Hickory Baptist Church, said everyone is praying for her. "Kids should be having fun. No one should have to go through what she did," he said. "This is just a tragedy."

Earlier, in nearby Morganton, seven officers and a police dog searched for Zahra on a wooded lot among piles of mulch and a wood chipper. The property has equipment belonging to the tree services company that employs her father, Adam Baker. He has not been charged, but police have said he hasn't been ruled out as a suspect.

An officer who asked for anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss the case confirmed the site was among several where officers are searching for the girl. The officer said a different dog got a "hit" at the scene a day earlier, but nothing was found then.

Investigators also drained a pond near the Burke County company where Zahra's father worked, though Hickory Police Deputy Chief Clyde Deal said there was nothing specific they were looking for.

"We always want to err on the side of doing more than you need to than not doing as much as you should have done," he said.

Friends have described Zahra as shy but upbeat despite her health problems.

Adkins has said police can't find anyone outside Zahra's household who has seen her alive in the last month. The uncertain timeframe has made it difficult for investigators to narrow down places to search for her.

Adam Baker has said it was possible his wife could be involved in the disappearance, and other relatives echoed those remarks.

Officers discovered the ransom note Saturday on the windshield of Adam Baker's car when they came to investigate a yard fire at their home. It demanded $1 million and was addressed to a man Adam Baker had worked for, though police quickly determined that man's family was safe.

Zahra was reported missing that afternoon. The stepmother said she last saw Zahra sleeping in her room about 12 hours earlier, though Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins has indicated he doesn't believe the timeline.

If you have seen Zahra or have any information that can help investigators with the case please call Hickory police at 828-328-5551.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25389806/detail.html

[mariloo]

There was a guy on Nancy Grace last night and he said the leg itself would have tore up the wood chipper because it is made from titanium.

That is exactly what I thought.  Where is the leg then?  I believe this very well may be the murder weapon because of how evil the SM is and the fact she hurt her hand on it while spanking/beating Zahra in the past.

[Monkey King]

There was a guy on Nancy Grace last night and he said the leg itself would have tore up the wood chipper because it is made from titanium.

That is exactly what I thought.  Where is the leg then?  I believe this very well may be the murder weapon because of how evil the SM is and the fact she hurt her hand on it while spanking/beating Zahra in the past.

That's exactly what I've been thinking all along. 

[pink angel]

Channel 9 has been able to confirm from police that the missing Hickory girl, Zahra Clare Baker, did make the move to Hickory with her family from Sawmills and have confirmed that she was alive as recently as mid September. Police are still working to narrow their timeline since the 10-year-old disabled girl went missing.Police said that the father, Adam Baker, has been 100 percent cooperative and has spent the majority of his time with investigators.Police also told Channel 9 that they have more search warrants but those court documents have been sealed by a judge.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25389806/detail.html

[mariloo]

There was a guy on Nancy Grace last night and he said the leg itself would have tore up the wood chipper because it is made from titanium.

That is exactly what I thought.  Where is the leg then?  I believe this very well may be the murder weapon because of how evil the SM is and the fact she hurt her hand on it while spanking/beating Zahra in the past.

That's exactly what I've been thinking all along. 

I hope the searchers have metal detectors.

[pink angel]

I just saw the news here in NC and they just reported that. There was human remains and blood on the equipment. It was on news 1s. Sorry have no link but she was live. Has anyone else heard that?

Is this for real??????????????  Are we still talking bout the Zahra case????  What channel (call letters) were you watching? 

The dogs "hit" on human remains. Which means they smelled decomposition.  There was some blood like stains that they took samples of from the cars/trucks.

[fatcatlurker]

Channel 9 has been able to confirm from police that the missing Hickory girl, Zahra Clare Baker, did make the move to Hickory with her family from Sawmills and have confirmed that she was alive as recently as mid September. Police are still working to narrow their timeline since the 10-year-old disabled girl went missing.Police said that the father, Adam Baker, has been 100 percent cooperative and has spent the majority of his time with investigators.Police also told Channel 9 that they have more search warrants but those court documents have been sealed by a judge.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25389806/detail.html

Good find PinkAngel!