ZAHRA CLARE BAKER - 10 yo (2010) - Hickory NC

There were red flags according to one article quoting a neighbour who said the stepmother used to make Zarah walk long distances on her prosthetic leg under threat of punishment. We don't know yet if this neighbour or anyone who saw her being treated badly by her stepmother bothered to notify authorities. Combine the fact that Zarah's stepmother obviously hated her with taking her out of the school system and this should have been very preventable.
Obviously nobody did anything to help rescue this child - or at the very least not enough was done.
People out there need to wake up. If someone is being cruel to a child in front of you, just imagine what they are like when there are no witnesses around.

kiwimom wrote:There were red flags according to one article quoting a neighbour who said the stepmother used to make Zarah walk long distances on her prosthetic leg under threat of punishment. We don't know yet if this neighbour or anyone who saw her being treated badly by her stepmother bothered to notify authorities. Combine the fact that Zarah's stepmother obviously hated her with taking her out of the school system and this should have been very preventable.
Obviously nobody did anything to help rescue this child - or at the very least not enough was done.
People out there need to wake up. If someone is being cruel to a child in front of you, just imagine what they are like when there are no witnesses around.

Your very right about that Kiwi, people need to start getting involved. This just breaks my heart, this little girl has battled hell in her short life and now this, just makes me sick.

Oh no
Police dogs smell remains at missing girl's house

By MITCH WEISS(AP)–45 minutes agoHICKORY — A search warrant says police dogs detected the smell of human remains on two cars at the house where a missing North Carolina girl lives.The document filed Monday didn't indicate that police found any remains in their search, which was conducted the previous night.Ten-year-old Zahra Clare Baker was reported missing over the weekend, but police say they're not sure if anyone outside her home has seen her in weeks.The warrant says the dogs detected the smell on cars belonging to the father and stepmother of the girl, who suffers from bone cancer and had a prosthetic leg.The girl's stepmother, Elisa Baker, was arrested on unrelated charges over the weekend.Her father, meanwhile, said it was possible his wife could have been involved in the disappearance.http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h4rxdEVLLWNY3lLWF2wqDQ34pAEwD9IPOQ900?docId=D9IPOQ900

Police dogs smell remains at missing N.C. girl's house
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By MITCH WEISS Associated Press Writer
ICKORY, N.C. (AP) - Investigators cast doubt Monday on accounts given by the father and stepmother of a missing 10-year-old whose battles with bone cancer left her with a prosthetic leg and hearing aids in both ears.

A search warrant revealed Monday that police dogs had detected the smell of human remains on cars belonging to the couple. Hours earlier, the police chief said investigators were having trouble finding anyone outside the household who had seen Zahra Clare Baker alive in the last few weeks.

The warrant filed in a Hickory court didn't indicate that police found any remains in their search Sunday. It said the dogs detected the smell on a sedan and SUV.

The couple had told police they discovered the girl was missing on Saturday and that one of them had seen her sleeping in her room hours earlier. Yet Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said investigators were having difficulty with that account.

"We don't know the last time anyone saw her," he said an afternoon news conference. "We're having a difficult time establishing a true timeline."

When the search warrant was filed hours later, police declined to comment further but said Adkins would issue a statement Tuesday morning.

Zahra's father, Adam Baker, said during a morning TV interview that it was possible his wife could be involved in the disappearance, which was reported after a fire in the home's yard. Elisa Baker was arrested Sunday on about a dozen charges unrelated to the girl's disappearance.

Adkins said the father was cooperating with police, but Elisa Baker wasn't.

A reporter saw what appeared to be remnants of clothes among burned branches from the fire at the house.

The search warrant said that police responding to the fire early Saturday found what appeared to be a ransom note addressed to Adam Baker's boss on the windshield of Baker's car. Police went to that man's house, and found him and his daughter to be fine.

"Mr. Coffey, you like being in control now who is in control we have your daughter," the warrant quoted the note as saying. It asked for $1 million dollars and said "no cops."

On Saturday afternoon, Adam Baker called to say his daughter was missing.

Zahra was described by family friends as shy but constantly smiling, in spite of her health problems. The stepmother could be short-tempered toward her, two former neighbors said, but the woman also fought tears when a charity fitted her for hearing aids a few months ago.

"I just hope I can get my daughter back. I miss her so much," Zahra's father, Adam Baker, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.

The girl's stepmother told her husband she last saw Zahra sleeping in her bed at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, about 2 1/2 hours before the fire was reported. Adam Baker said he was panicked after the fire, but didn't immediately check on his daughter.

The police chief said he wouldn't rule out any suspects, including Adam Baker.

Adam Baker was asked if he thought his wife was involved and said, "I wouldn't like to think so. On what I've heard so far, it could be possible."

On Monday, several of Adam Baker's friends stood outside his one-story house in Hickory, a city of 40,000 residents about 50 miles northwest of Charlotte.

"I just don't have a good feeling about this," said former neighbor Kayla Rotenberry. "She was such a sweet girl. This is just a nightmare."

Rotenberry said she and her fiance were good friends with the Bakers when they lived in the nearby town of Sawmills, and saw Zahra often. The couple was skeptical of the girl's stepmother, in part because she claimed to write songs for musician and "American Idol" finalist Chris Daughtry, and told other far-fetched stories, Rotenberry said. Daughtry's manager said he was unaware of any connection between Elisa Baker and the singer.

"We just got to the point where we didn't believe her. We knew they were lies," said Rotenberry, 23.

The stepmother also had a short temper, Rotenberry said.

Rotenberry said about six months ago she noticed that Elisa Baker's hand was swollen. "She told me that she was trying to spank Zahra, but hit her on her prosthetic leg," she said. "When Adam asked her about the injury, she said she fell and hurt her hand. She didn't want him to know. She knew he would be mad."

Another former neighbor, Brandy Stapleton, 22, of Lenoir, said that Elisa Baker told her the same story about how she injured her hand. "She wasn't the person everyone thought she was."

Adam Baker was from Australia, and met his current wife over the Internet, Stapleton said. Zahra's mother lives outside the U.S.

Zahra had two hearing aids, which were left at the house, and a prosthetic left leg from the knee down, police said. She was being home-schooled, but had attended public schools in the past.

The child had lost part of her hearing during chemotherapy for two bouts of cancer, her stepmother told the Independent-Tribune of Concord-Kannapolis in May during a charity event where she got free hearing aids.

Family friends said the girl also had the prosthetic leg because of cancer.

Elisa Baker was arrested Sunday on charges including communicating threats, writing worthless checks, larceny and driving with a revoked license. It was unclear whether she has an attorney.

She has two daughters and a son from a previous marriage. The mother and son don't have much of a relationship, the man said, after he stayed with his father when they divorced. The daughters went to live with their mother.

Still, 22-year-old Douglas Proctor said he had spoken to investigators about his mother and was dismayed over news of the case.

"It's not something that you want to open up a paper and see," he said, adding he'd met Zahra only once.

http://www.kidk.com/news/national/104741634.html

Annabeth wrote:Tom how come they issued an Amber Alert, thought they needed more info before they did this.....never issued one on Haleigh or Kyron....hmmmm

Annabeth, the police department themselves are who determines if an Amber Alert should be called and the reason this was reported as such is because the department felt that the child was in "imminent danger" due to the fact (I'm assuming) that the disappearance was reported as "missing from her bed" and the fact she has bone cancer, hearing impaired and a prosthetic leg. With all the combining factors they determined that this would certainly not be a case in which a child just up and left or went off with a friend after school and not reporting home, etc.. So each department can "declare" what they feel may be extraordinary circumstances that entitles them to call an actual Amber Alert. Unfortunately other departments may "go by the book" and feel they need a description of an abductor or vehicle before issuing one:(

Please keep the prayers going. It's looking very dim. This precious child who had so many obstacles from the start...and to have an ending like this just makes me want to cry uncontrollably.

Amber Alert update: FBI, US Marshals join search for Zahra Baker

An Amber Alert was issued for Zahra Baker on October 10, 2010, she was last seen by her stepmother, Elisa Baker early Saturday morning, at approximately 2:30 a.m..

Now, the Hickory Police Department in North Carolina have announced that the FBI and US Marshals have been brought into the case. Zahra’s father, Adam Baker and her stepmother, Elisa Baker have spoken with authorities and have not been ruled out as persons of interest in the case.

A press conference was held today and it was announced that there were inconsistencies in the stories Zahra’s parents have given authorities, but police are not releasing what that information is.

On Sunday, Zahra Baker’s stepmother was arrested on unrelated charges dating back to 2002.Zahra Baker is a cancer survivor and lost her lower left leg and hearing to the disease. She vanished without her hearing aids, indicating she did not leave willingly.

If you have any information on Zahra you are asked to contact the Hickory Police Department at 1-828-328-5551. You may also contact 911.

Zahra Baker is 5’1” has brown hair and blue eyes and weighs 85 pounds, she is 10-years-old.

The search for a 10-year-old girl from Hickory entered its third day Tuesday with grim new details from a search warrant and questions from people who knew both Zahra Baker and her step mom Elisa.Zahra was reported missing around 2 p.m. Saturday.Her stepmother, Elisa Baker, says she last saw the girl around 2:30 a.m. Saturday. She is now in jail on unrelated charges of communicating threats and passing worthless checks. Monday, Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said she is not cooperating with the investigation into Zahra's disappearance.Brittany Bentley, who was married to Elisa's nephew, said her heart dropped when she heard Zahra was missing. "I knew this day was going to come. Everybody that knew Zahra knew how she was being treated. This was going to happen," she said.Bentley is no friend of the family. She says she filed the charges for "communicating threats" that Elisa Baker is now in jail for. Bentley says those charges stemmed from an argument during which she says Baker threatened to kill her, her husband, and their child."I knew this was going to happen someday," she said.Bentley and about 30 others searched the Hickory neighborhood where Zahra disappeared as darkness fell Monday. Many of the searchers, including Bentley, said they did not feel optimistic.A search warrant released earlier in the day revealed that cadaver dogs had positive hits for the presence of human remains in two vehicles now seized from the Baker’s house.The warrant also mentioned blood.Charles Rotenberry, a friend of the family, called police after finding a glove in the bushes near the Baker’s backyard.“It had a bad smell to it and there was just red goo all in it,” he says.Chief Adkins asked for the public's help in determining when Zahra Baker was last seen. The 10-year-old is a bone cancer survivor who wears a prosthetic leg and two hearing aids. She is 5-feet-1 and was last seen wearing a camouflage T-shirt and black leggings.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/search-zahra-clare-baker-stepmom-custody-11848861?cid=Slate

Step-Mom in custody.

Everybody that knew Zahra knew how she was being treated. This was going to happen,

---OK, then WTF people???? Call the authorities!!!
It is our responsibility, ALL OF US, to recognize and REPORT suspicions of this nature. Perhaps Zahra would be here today if Ms Bentley had been as concerned about her as she now claims...

The end of that interview above is heart-wrenching. My god, that poor dad.

but did the dad live with them as well? how could he not know this was going on if he did?

Ooohh, I hate to say it friends but methinks the Dad had a part in this. Look at the ABC interview. He's looking straight into the camera UNTIL he answers questions regarding the disappearance. Then his eyes cast immediately downward and away from the prying eye of the media.

Fashion Police Memo: Nice choice of t-shirt for a national interview about your missing child, dumb ass.

Relative: Missing NC girl had 'terrible' home life

By MITCH WEISS (AP) – 22 minutes ago

HICKORY, N.C. — Relatives of a missing 10-year-old North Carolina girl whose bone cancer left her with a prosthetic leg and hearing aids described the child's life as miserable, saying she was locked in her room for most of the day and was punished over little things.

Zahra Clare Baker was reported missing Saturday, but police said they have had trouble finding anyone outside the household who had seen the girl alive in the last few weeks. Authorities also cast doubt on what the couple had told them.

"I just think this was something for a long time that we knew was going to happen, everybody that was close to the family," relative Brittany Bentley said on CBS' "Early Show" on Tuesday.

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

Zahra was reported missing after a yard fire at the home. The girl's stepmother, Elisa Baker, was arrested Sunday on about a dozen charges unrelated to her disappearance. It's unclear whether she has an attorney.

Bentley, who is married to Elisa Baker's nephew, said she would have Zahra over for weekends and the girl would get mad when it was time to return home.

Zahra "was locked in her room, allowed five minutes out a day to eat, that was it," Bentley said. "She was beat almost every time I was over there for just the smallest things. Elisa would get mad, she would take it out on Zahra, things the kid didn't deserve. She just had a horrible home life."

Neighbors also feared the worst. A search warrant revealed that police dogs detected the smell of human remains on cars belonging to the father and stepmother.

"There were warning signs along the way, but you never want to think the worst," said former neighbor Kayla Rotenberry.

Police scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The stepmother said she last saw Zahra sleeping in her room about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, yet Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said investigators don't know the last time anyone saw her. "We're having a difficult time establishing a true timeline," he said.

After the search warrant, police declined to comment further.

Adkins, the police chief in a city of 40,000 residents about 50 miles northwest of Charlotte, said the father was cooperating with police, but Elisa Baker wasn't.

Zahra had two hearing aids, which were left at the house, and a prosthetic left leg from the knee down, police said.

She was being home-schooled, but had attended public schools in the past.

Police responded to the fire early Saturday and found what appeared to be a ransom note addressed to Adam Baker's boss on the windshield of Baker's car, the search warrant said. Police went to that man's house, and found him and his daughter to be fine.
snipped
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h4rxdEVLLWNY3lLWF2wqDQ34pAEwD9IQ5S9O0?docId=D9IQ5S9O0

this may have been posted already - but OMG - they knew she had a terrible home life and did nothing?

Posted: 11:59 am EDT October 11, 2010Updated: 11:39 am EDT October 12, 2010HICKORY, N.C. -- Hickory police chief Tom Adkins spoke briefly on Tuesday to update the public on the latest details of the missing 10-year-old Zahra Baker.Police have issues an arrest warrant on Elisa Baker after she admitted to writing the ransom note that was left at the scene. Elisa is being charged with felony obstruction of justice after being interviewed Monday night about the disappearance of Zahra.Adkins said the AMBER alert has been canceled and the investigation has turned from a missing child to a homicide investigation.Adkins pleaded with the public to come forward with any information to help solve the case.Investigators and the community intensified their search Monday in Hickory for Zahra who was reported missing on Saturday.Disturbing details emerged from a search warrant released Monday, including a mysterious ransom note found and police dogs sniffing out human remains near the Hickory home.Hickory police chief Tom Adkins' said his main objective has been establishing some kind of timeline of when Zahra Baker was last seen.Investigators planned another news conference to brief the media and the public on any developments of the case Tuesday morning at the police department.According to the search warrant, investigators showed up at Zahra Baker's residence responding to a brush fire outside the home on Saturday morning when they found a ransom note inside of a Chevrolet Tahoe that was parked outside.The note claimed a girl had been kidnapped and demanded $1 million in unmarked bills. The words "no cops" were scribbled nearby."We are questioning the validity of that note," said Chief Adkins. "We have no further demands from the note."The note was addressed to the employer of the girl's father, Mark Coffee, and when his daughter was found safe police left.Seven hours later, a second call came into police. This time Zahra was reported missing. According to the search warrant, her father believed kidnappers took her from the home.The search warrant also states that search dogs alerted police on human remains found in the couple's vehicles.Police tell Channel 9 the father, Adam Baker, is cooperating, but wouldn't go into further detail when talking about his wife, Elisa Baker.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/25354656/detail.html

HICKORY, N.C. -- October 12 Update 11:43 a.m.Police say they are shifting to a homicide investigation in the case of a missing 10-year-old North Carolina girl whose bone cancer left her with a prosthetic leg and hearing aids.Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said at a news conference Tuesday that the girl's stepmother confessed to writing a ransom note found at the house where the girl lived. The woman has also asked for an attorney.Elisa Baker has been charged with felony obstruction of justice in the disappearance of Zahra Clare Baker.Adkins did not take any questions and did not explain why the case was now being considered a homicide.He said investigators have determined that no one outside the family has seen the girl for a month.Zahra was reported missing Saturday, but authorities have cast doubt on what her father and stepmother told them had told them.http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/oct/12/13/amber-alert-issued-missing-10-year-old-ar-943493/

The stepmother of a missing 10-year-old North Carolina girl has admitted writing a ransom note found at the family's home, authorities said Tuesday. Meanwhile, Hickory, North Carolina, Police Chief Tom Adkins said investigators have been unable to find anyone outside Zahra Clare Baker's immediate family who has seen her in the last month. "We cannot confirm with any confidence how long Zahra has been missing," he said. The investigation has shifted from a possible abduction into a homicide probe, he said, and an Amber Alert issued for the girl on Saturday will be canceled. Elisa Baker, Zahra's stepmother, made the admission in an interview Monday night at the detention center where she is held on charges unrelated to Zahra's disappearance, Adkins told reporters. She then requested an attorney, he said. Police have obtained an arrest warrant for Elisa Baker on a felony charge of obstruction of justice, Adkins said. The chief said residents want to form search teams to look for Zahra, but said since police do not know when the child disappeared, they cannot select an area to search.Adkins asked for anyone who has seen Zahra in the last month to come forward. Investigators have learned that an inspection may have been scheduled at the home, and are interested in speaking with the inspector, he said. Zahra was reported missing about 2 p.m. Saturday. Police have said her father, Adam Baker, and stepmother reported she was last seen sleeping in her bed about 12 hours earlier, at 2:30 a.m. According to a search warrant filed in the case, firefighters responded to a "fire on a mulch pile" at the home about 5:30 a.m. Saturday. Adkins said "some evidence" was recovered from the scene. Firefighters found a Chevrolet Tahoe with its passenger door open and a Duke Power envelope with handwriting on the front windshield, the search warrant said. They notified police, who approached the SUV and smelled the odor of gasoline coming from inside. The note written on the envelope was addressed to a "Mr. Coffey," identified in the search warrant as Adam Baker's boss, Mark David Coffey. "Mr. Coffey, you like being in control now who is in control," the note said, according to the search warrant. "We have your daughter and your pot smoking red head son is next unless you do what is asked 1,000,000 unmarked will be in touch soon." In the bottom right, the note said, "no cops," according to the warrant. Coffee and his only daughter were at the residence at the time of the fire, the warrant said. CNN affiliate News 14 Carolina reported Coffey owns the home. Adam Baker called police about 2 p.m., saying someone had poured gas in his car and left a note saying they had his boss' daughter, according to the search warrant. Baker told police he believed the person who left the note had kidnapped Zahra. The Bakers consented to a search of their home, the warrant said. A cadaver dog indicated the possible presence of human remains in or on the Chevrolet Tahoe as well as a burgundy Toyota Camry on the property, it said. Authorities were testing swabs taken from the Tahoe to determine if blood was also present, according to the warrant. The girl -- a bone cancer survivor, according to CNN affiliate WCNC -- uses a prosthetic leg and hearing aids. The hearing aids have been found, but not the prosthesis, Adkins said. Elisa Baker was arrested Sunday morning on four counts of writing worthless checks, said Eric Farr, a spokesman for the Catawba County District Attorney's office. Farr said she faces other charges in different counties, including a felony larceny count and other bad-check charges. She is being held on $31,500 bail. Her court-appointed attorney on the felony charge, Jared Amos of Morganton, North Carolina, said Tuesday he could not comment on the case, as his representation is limited to that charge. Adkins said Adam Baker faces similar charges, but police have held off serving an arrest warrant while he cooperates with police. One of Zahra's relatives told CBS earlier Tuesday the girl had a "horrible home life" and was frequently locked in her room. Brittany Bentley, who is married to Elisa Baker's nephew, told the "Early Show" that every time she was in the Bakers' home, Zahra was locked in her room and allowed out for five minutes a day to eat. She also said she believed the girl was physically abused, saying Elisa Baker would "get mad, she'd take it out on Zahra, things the kid didn't deserve ... she just had a horrible home life." Police said in a statement they are are "working several leads, specifically addressing Zahra's life before she disappeared." The family was reported to child welfare authorities, Bentley said, but "I don't know how much was done." North Carolina's social services system is state-supervised but county-administered, meaning reports are handled in the county where they are made, said Lori Walston, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services. However, she said workers are bound by strict confidentiality laws and would not be able to comment on the case. Bentley's mother, Kim Drum, told CBS that Zahra frequently spent the night in her home, and said the girl would always take her prosthetic leg off when she put on her pyjamas. She said when she heard the prosthesis had not been found, she knew something was wrong. "She was a happy child," Bentley told the "Early Show." "... She was an amazing child." She said the only time she ever saw Zahra angry was "when it was time for her to go home ... I understand why she didn't want to go home, because her home life was miserable." An emotional Adam Baker told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday he can't be sure his wife is not involved in Zahra's disappearance. "Until they've completed their investigation and can tell me some more, I can't honestly say," he said. Zahra is described as being about 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighing 85 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
The FBI is assisting Hickory police in the investigation, officials said. Authorities ask anyone with information to contact the Hickory Police Department.

http://www.wbtv.com/global/link.asp?l=460807

here is the search warrant

I wonder where they lived before?

October 12, 2010 3:48 PM

Zahra Clare Baker: Stepmom Elisa Baker Held on Charge Related to Missing N.C. Girl

HICKORY, N.C. (CBS/AP) The Amber Alert for Zahra Baker, the missing hearing-impaired North Carolina girl, has been canceled, and now the homicide investigation is just beginning. Although police have not named any suspects, recent reports suggest that they are taking a careful look at Zahra's stepmother Elisa Baker.

On Tuesday morning, Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins told reporters that Elisa Baker had confessed to writing a ransom note found at the house where the girl lived that seemed to point to a mistaken identity stranger abduction.The chief also said that Elisa Baker has now been charged with felony obstruction of justice in the case.

Zahra's stepmother had already been arrested on unrelated charges. Elisa Baker said she last saw Zahra sleeping in her room about 12 hours earlier, but Adkins has indicated he doesn't believe the timeline the couple gave him, and is attempting to piece together a "true timeline."

While both parents say Zahra was in thehouse as late as Saturday, Adkins said investigators have been unableto find anyone outside of the family who has seen Zahra for at least a month.



Elisa Baker (AP Photo/Hickory Police Department)

After news of Zahra's disappearance and Elisa Baker's arrest, those who knew the Bakers came forward with stories of abuse and neglect, and Adam Baker told reporters he believed "it [was] possible" his wife was involved in his daughter's disappearance.

Brittany Bentley, who is married to Elisa Baker's nephew, told CBS' The Early Show that when Zahra stayed with her for a weekend the 10-year-old, who suffered from bone cancer and lost hearing in both ears from chemotherapy, grew upset when she had to return home. "She was beat almost every time I was over there for just the smallest things," Bentley told the morning show. "Elisa would get mad, she would take it out on Zahra, things the kid didn't deserve. She just had a horrible home life."

A former neighbor, Kayla Rotenberry, said she grew close with the Bakers when they lived down the street from her but grew suspicious of Elisa Baker because of her outlandish stories and quick temper. "There were warning signs along the way," Rotenberry said. "But you never want to think the worst."

According to Adkins, Zahra was reported missing Saturday afternoon by her father, Adam Baker, after a yard fire at the family home in Hickory, N.C., about 55 miles north of Charlotte. Shortly after the Amber Alert was issued Elisa Baker was arrested for nearly a dozen unrelated charges including communicating threats,writing worthless checks, larceny and driving with a revoked license.

Volunteers have offered to help look for Zahra, who is described as shy but always smiling, but efforts have been stymied by the lack of information about her whereabouts before she disappeared. "We understand the public wants to help find Zahra. The problem is we cannot confirm with any confidence how long Zahra has been missing," he said at the news conference. "Without this information, we cannot positively select the area to search for her."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551.