Lindsey Baum -- Missing 6/26/09

I never heard anything about the landfill being checked. It should be one of the first things they do in a missing child case like they did in Somer Thompson's case. Unfortunately with the older kids, it seems like LE often wastes a bunch of time at the beginning trying to decide whether the kid ran away or was really abducted.

New search in disappearance of Lindsey Baum

by TRICIA MANNING-SMITH / KING 5 News
KING5.com
Posted on June 5, 2010 at 4:29 PM

MCCLEARY, Wash. - The first anniversary of Lindsey Baum's disappearance is nearing. Crews are meticulously picking through different forested areas around McCleary this weekend, using new tactics to find evidence of her or her captor. Shoulder to shoulder, volunteers wield rakes, picks, even machetes. They're looking for anything that shouldn't naturally be there.

"This is probably the hardest part of the searching part for evidence, especially when you have to go through all the brush as these folks," said volunteer crew boss Doyle Wenzel. "Its amazing what you can find out in the forest that people have discarded. We found a safe earlier this morning, clothing, blankets, gloves.... "

Wenzel marks and categorizes every bit of potential evidence. This weekend's hunt through the brush around the Grays Harbor town of McCleary is a combination of old and new: Volunteers use old-fashioned hand tools to search out areas defined by new technology. Analysts sitting in offices have cross referenced computerized tips, GPS images and reports to narrow down the search field.

The lack off any solid evidence surrounding Baum's disappearance last June at least leaves hope that she might still be living. Yet, cadaver trained dogs also join the hunt for clues.

"In these types of situations, we have to look at both sides of the spectrum, " said Detective Ed McGowan with the Grays Harbor Sheriff's Department.

Just this week investigators released the only home video known to exist of then 10-year-old Lindsey. It was taken months before she walked home from a friend's house in June 2009 and was never seen again. Meanwhile, detectives still hope to find the two men shown in surveillance video taken the night she disappeared. They may have unknowingly witnessed something suspicious.

The search through the forest continues through Sunday. More than 70 volunteers, representing at least five different agencies, are hoping their investment of time and work will ultimately pay off.

"That one little piece of evidence we find today, may lead us to solving the case," said McGowan.

Both Grays Harbor and the FBI have dedicated detectives assigned to this case. They will next analyze any evidence discovered in the forest.

http://www.king5.com/news/New-Search-in-Lindsey-Baum-Disappearance-Case-95697559.html

‘Day of hope' set for Lindsey

Missing girl: Event to offer kid ID kits

JEREMY PAWLOSKI; Staff writer
Updated: 06/21/1012:34 am

OLYMPIA – The first anniversary of Lindsey Baum’s disappearance will be observed Saturday in Olympia’s Heritage Park.

The observance, called “Lindsey’s Day of Hope and Awareness For the Missing,” will take place from 2-8 p.m.

Lindsey was 10 when she disappeared in McCleary on June 26, 2009. She has not been found, and investigators think she is the victim of foul play.

She was walking along Maple Street, going home from a friend’s residence, the evening she disappeared. The last time someone saw Lindsey, she was walking to her mom’s old home on Mommsen Road about 9:15 p.m.

The event in Heritage Park will feature guest speakers, and Washington State Patrol troopers will assist with child identification kits. Activities for children are scheduled. Balloons will be released during a ceremony to remember Lindsey and all of the other missing persons in Washington, according to a flier for the event.

Authorities are offering $25,000 for information that leads to Lindsey’s whereabouts, or for information leading to the arrest of and charges filed against the person or people responsible for her disappearance.

The investigation of Lindsey’s disappearance continues, Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott said during a recent interview.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/06/21/1234866/day-of-hope-set-for-lindsey.html

Reward balloons as police renew search for Lindsey Baum

By Keith Eldridge
June 21, 2010



MCCLEARY, Wash. -- The reward has just been increased in the search for Lindsey Baum as we approach the one year anniversary of her disappearance.

What was a $25,000 reward has been increased to $30,000.

Meanwhile, the anniversary is providing a time when detectives can talk to people who may only pass through here once a year. McCleary is a small town but a real crossroads with a lot of traffic, and state troopers and the FBI returned to McCleary to ramp up the investigation.

"We want to be out and have our presence felt in the community and keep the community remembering Lindsey's face," said Deputy Dave Pimentel with the Grays Harbor Sheriff's Department. "And hopefully something new will develop."

This week and next they'll be out canvassing some of the same areas as before, talking to people who may have been interviewed before, and also following up on any new leads.

They're still hoping to find the man seen in surveillance video the night Lindsey disappeared, and the people who were in this Honda Ridgeline truck. They're not seen as suspects -- just people who may have seen Lindsey or something suspicious.

"It's terribly frustrating," Pimentel said.

Lindsey's mother no longer lives in McCleary. She's moved to the Olympia area where a special event is planned for Saturday at Heritage Park -- Lindsey's Day of Hope and awareness. June 26, 2009 was the day Lindsey disappeared.

The FBI is here and also in Oregon to help with the search for Kyron Hormon, but we're told Lindsey's case is still a top priority.

"The FBI has been with us every step of the way and they continue to provide a great deal of resources," Pimentel said.

Detectives are hoping with the bump in reward money and Lindsey's face back in the forefront, they'll find that one clue that leads them to Lindsey.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/96842294.html

How very sad.........one year gone and not a trace.

I guess I just don't understand how a mother could move when her child is missing?? I don't know if I could ever bring myself to leave that house thinking that they might walk up the driveway one day...

I thought the same thing myself Tish.

More surveillance video released in search for Lindsey Baum

By KOMO Staff & News Services
Story Updated: Jun 25, 2010 at 7:08 PM PDT



MCCLEARY, Wash. - One year ago Saturday, 10-year-old Lindsey Baum disappeared while walking home from a friend's house in McCleary.

She has missed her 11th birthday party, the start of a new school year, holidays and family gatherings.

Investigators say they continue to hope a piece of critical information might be found that can bring the case to a close.

Undersheriff Rick Scott says there's a renewed search around McCleary, and the reward for information on Lindsey's whereabouts has risen to $30,000.

Also, new surveillance video has been released. Detectives want to talk to the men in the black plaid shirt, and red tank top.

They were in the area around the time Lindsey disappeared, and might have seen something.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/97187144.html

Detectives execute search warrants in missing girl case

By KOMO Staff
Story Updated: Jul 13, 2010 at 11:04 AM PDT



MCCLEARY, Wash. - Sheriff's deputies are combing through two properties here as part of their ongoing search for Lindsey Baum, who disappeared more than a year ago while walking home from a friend's house.

Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott said detectives obtained search warrants for the two locations.

Deputies and FBI agents began searching a house in the 100 block of Fir Street, and a storage area in the 900 block of West Simpson on Tuesday morning.

Scott said a "gentlemen who has become a subject of interest to us" is connected to the properties.

He expected the searches to take several hours.

Detectives have spent months searching the town, conducting interviews and reviewing security camera footage, hoping to turn up new clues that will lead them to the missing girl.

No arrests have been made and police have never identified a suspect in the girl's disappearance.

Scott said the man targeted in Tuesday's searches is someone detectives also talked to early in the investigation.

"He, like everyone else, came to our attention because of the proximity of where he was living in relation to where she was believed to have been last seen," Scott said.

Investigators have released several video clips to the public hoping to generate new tips and are offering a $30,000 reward for information in the case.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/98336299.html

wow - great news to hear that the case seems to be very active. I'll never forget her fathers plea to the public to return her before he was deployed... it breaks my heart.

Baum investigators seize items

Search: Storage unit, rental home scrutinized in hunt for information into disappearance of McCleary girl

JEREMY PAWLOSKI; Staff writer
Published July 14, 2010

McCLEARY - The Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office and an FBI team searched a home and a storage facility here Tuesday, seizing items belonging to a person of interest in the disappearance of Lindsey Baum, who was 10 when she vanished more than a year ago.

The storage facility is in the 900 block of West Simpson Avenue, while the home is in the 100 block of Fir Street, Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott said.

Scott said that as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, there were no indications that the items seized were of value to investigators. Investigators might find evidence that will clear the person of interest, Scott said.

The man is being investigated because of discrepancies in what he had told law enforcement officers during interviews and information later uncovered by investigators, Scott said. One of those discrepancies had to do with his criminal record, Scott said.

Scott said the man moved to McCleary a little more than a year ago. He did not live at his current location on Fir Street at the time of Lindsey’s disappearance, Scott added.

The owner of the Fir Street home where the man lives “has nothing to do with this,” Scott said.

Lindsey vanished after leaving a friend’s home on Maple Street in McCleary shortly before 9:15 p.m. June 26, 2009. She apparently intended to walk about a half-mile across town to the Mommsen Road home she shared with her mother, Melissa, and her older brother, Josh. She never arrived.

The last confirmed sighting of Lindsey was by a resident driving through town who saw her walking on Maple Street between Fifth and Sixth streets shortly after 9:15 p.m.

Scott has said investigators think Lindsey was the victim of foul play.

There have been a handful of persons of interest in the case, but none has become a suspect. The Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation, with the assistance of the FBI’s Seattle office.

Over the summer, the investigation has ramped up in and around McCleary, with law officers recanvassing neighborhoods and re-searching areas in hopes of finding evidence that will lead to the girl’s whereabouts.

Tuesday’s search was apparent to residents because of the suits worn by members of the FBI evidence response team, Scott said. The suits are similar in appearance to hazardous-materials suits and are worn to prevent contamination of any potential evidence, he said.

Investigators seized a large number of items during Tuesday’s search, and it might take many laboratory hours to examine them and determine whether they are of significance, Scott added.

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/14/1303777/baum-investigators-seize-items.html

Work crews clear brush for clues into Lindsey Baum's disappearance; items sent to lab for testing

August 20th, 2010 11:34 pm

August 20, 2010 - State prison work crews cleared a large patch of overgrown land in McCleary Friday so police could get a second look at an area where they hoped to find clues into Lindsey Baum’s disappearance over a year ago.

Lindsey Baum disappeared from her McCleary, Wash., neighborhood a year ago last June.

Read the rest here:
http://www.examiner.com/headlines-in-seattle/work-crews-clear-brush-for-clues-into-lindsey-baum-s-disappearance-items-sent-to-lab-for-testing

This is one case that just haunts me. Where is this little girl?

It gets depressing when these cases are over a year old and we still don't have any answers.

Vanished: Lindsey Baum Case Heartbreaking for Family, Frustrating for Police

By ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, MAUREEN WHITE and SARAH NETTER
Sept. 8, 2010



After thousands of tips and just as many dashed hopes, police in Washington state are using a year-old surveillance video to try to track down anyone who may have information about the disappearance of 10-year-old Lindsey Baum.

The frustrating case has hit one dead-end after another, but authorities say they're waiting for that one piece of information that will lead to an answer.

"That piece of information that someone may have that to them is completely meaningless, that's going to be the one little nugget that will unravel this mystery," said Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott.

The surveillance video, recently released to the public, shows two men -- one in a plaid shirt, another with a young boy -- that the police are hoping to talk to. They were at the Shell gas station around the time that Lindsey vanished on her way home from a friend's house in June 2009.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/vanished-lindsey-baum-case-heartbreaking-family-frustrating-police/story?id=11582168

Inmates To Help In Search For Missing McCleary Girl Lindsey Baum

Updated: 3:33 pm PDT October 25, 2010

MCCLEARY, Wash. -- Law enforcement will receive help this week from Washington Department of Corrections inmates in the ongoing search for missing 12-year-old Lindsey Baum of McCleary.

The FBI, Gray's Harbor Sheriff's Department, and Washington State Patrol will be working with inmates from the Cedar Creek Corrections Center to conduct a number of targeted searches in and around McCleary on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Read more: http://www.kirotv.com/news/25508046/detail.html

~Snipped~
The FBI said the inmates previously assisted in searches for Baum during August and early October and have proved to be a dedicated and hard-working labor force.

With the equipment and supervision provided by the DOC, the inmates' ability to clear large areas of dense brush has enabled comprehensive searching in areas.

What a resourceful idea! I've never heard of using inmates to assist in such a manner.

Missing girl's mother accuses firefighters of refusing to help

by ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News
NWCN.com
Posted on December 15, 2010 at 9:41 PM

Updated yesterday at 10:52 PM



MCCLEARY, Wash. -- A controversy is brewing in McCleary, where Lindsey Baum disappeared 18 months ago. The group helping with the search is upset with local firefighters, accusing them of refusing to help find the missing girl.

Read more:
http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=111977054&fPath=/news/local&fDomain=10212