To help those coming in late this evening, I've put all of today's media releases in this post for easy reference. That way they are all together in one post & everyone dosen't have to go back pgs to find them all too! :wink:
Missing girl's mother: 'Let her go'
03:51 PM PDT on Thursday, July 2, 2009
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If a stranger kidnapped 10-year-old Lindsey Baum, her mother says the girl would have put up a fight.
“She has very long fingernails,” said Melissa Baum. “Her brother is proof enough of that.”
Lindsey’s mother also said her daughter is too smart to be tricked by a stranger to get in their car.
“I joke that she’s 10 going on 16,” said Melissa Baum.
Grays Harbor County scaled back volunteer search and rescue efforts Thursday.
“We’re not ending it, we’re just temporarily suspending it,” said Undersheriff Rick Scott.
Scott said most of Thursday’s work was conducted by detectives following up on tips and interviewing potential witnesses.
Melissa Baum said all she can do is wait by the phone for a call from police or Lindsey.
Lindsey’s mother believes her daughter is still alive, but said that is getting harder to do.
"I don't know if they're taking care of her or if they have her locked up somewhere," said Melissa Baum."They just need to let her go, let her come home."
Scott also is urging people to report any unusual behavior that might point to an abductor, such as suddenly cutting or dyeing hair, an unexplained absence from work or cuts or bruises on the arms and face.
Investigators say both Lindsey's mom and the father of the friend at the home where Lindsey had just left have both voluntarily taken - and passed - polygraph tests, and they are not considered suspects.
SLIDESHOW: Photos of missing McCleary girl~2009-07-02
http://www.king5.com/perl/common/slideshow/sspop.pl?recid=17217&location=www.king5.com
VIDEO: Air, land search under way for McCleary girl~2009-06-30
http://www.nwcn.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=375953
VIDEO: Search ramps up for McCleary girl~2009-06-30
http://www.nwcn.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=376164
VIDEO: Missing girl likely kidnapped~2009-07-01
http://www.nwcn.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=376539
VIDEO: Police suspend search for missing McCleary girl~2009-07-02
http://www.nwcn.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=376918
Article:
http://www.nwcn.com/topstories/stories/NW_070209WAB-mccleary-KS.67b0a9.html
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Search Suspended For Missing McCleary Girl
10-year-old Lindsey Baum Remains Missing
July 2, 2009
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The town of McCleary in Grays Harbor County isn't giving up hope, but law enforcement officials have suspended their search and rescue efforts for 10-year-old Lindsey Baum.
While the investigation continues, crews have stopped combing the area for the girl. Search dogs, ATVs, helicopters and planes will no longer be utilized.
Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott told Q13 FOX News that crews have thoroughly searched the area around McCleary. Now, this case is shifting into more of an investigation, with 30 officers trying to develop new leads.
Authorities say, by now, it's very unlikely that Baum has run away from home and it's possible that someone has kidnapped her.
Scott spoke about his department has uncovered so far, and what it means about the future of the investigation.
"It suggests that she's been removed from this immediate environment," Scott said. "But we don't have the evidence to support that theory, so we have to continue to be as comprehensive as we were from day one."
Ronald Twersky, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of FBI Seattle says, "Obviously we're concerned with the time that's passed, but we're looking at this to locate Lindsey and that's the approach we have going forward."
Twersky says they have more than a dozen agents working on the case in rotating shifts, including agents with their child abduction response team. They're talking to neighbors, relatives and anyone who was in the area when Lindsey disappeared.
Investigators say if you saw anything unusual Friday night in McCleary, or have noticed a change in someone's behavior, contact the police.
Article:
http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-070109-missinggirl,0,12523.story
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Search for missing McCleary girl tapering off
July 2, 2009 12:55 PM ET
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After nearly a week the search for a missing McCleary girl is tapering off.
Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott say investigators are reviewing the case. They still would like to talk to anyone who may have seen anything unusual in McCleary between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday when Lindsey Baum was walking home from a friend's house.
Scott also is urging people to report any unusual behavior that might point to an abductor, such as suddenly cutting or dyeing hair, an unexplained absence from work or cuts or bruises on the arms and face.
Article:
http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=10635952&nav=menu484_2
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Focus now on abduction
Authorities ask people to report odd behavior
Thursday, July 2, 2009 12:25 PM PDT
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Search crews and dogs continued to comb the streets of McCleary and nearby woods Wednesday looking for 10-year-old Lindsey Baum, but authorities have started to shift toward an abduction investigation as the hunt entered its sixth day.
“We are starting to look at this as more of a criminal investigation,” Grays Harbor Undersheriff Rick Scott said. “The possibility that someone has facilitated her disappearance is becoming greater as the hours tick on.”
Local authorities, with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have stepped up inquiries into people that may have known Baum or lived nearby.
Ron Twersky, assistant special agent in charge from the Seattle FBI field office, said people should report strange behavior or “just anything that doesn’t seem right.”
“The bottom line is we have a missing girl,” Twersky told reporters Wednesday, emphasizing investigators are examining all leads.
“They may have an association with someone who knows something,” he said, “so if they suspect that, please be the person who has the courage to come forward.”
Scott said that from the beginning, investigators have explored the possibility of family members or friends being involved. Baum’s mother and the stepfather of the young girl Baum had been visiting just before she disappeared have both taken voluntary polygraph tests to aid the investigation.
“They asked to be polygraphed so that we would be comfortable with what we were being told and we could move on to other things,” Scott said. “They did not want us to be wasting valuable time.”
Scott said he was “comfortable” with their answers.
Throughout the search, investigators have spoken with Baum’s father, who lives in Tennessee, Scott said. The father has now booked a flight to Washington for this weekend.
Scott said bloodhounds traced the route Lindsey took early on from the friend’s house to her own home, but didn’t find any scent. And in places where Lindsey once played — parks and by the creek — Lindsey’s scent has been vanishing.
The loss of scent could be a combination of factors — the heat on the sidewalk could have dissipated it for instance, he said.
Scott said a second person came forward Tuesday with a confirmed sighting of Baum from Friday night in the same area along Maple Street near Fifth Street.
Twersky said the FBI has more than a dozen agents in McCleary assisting with the investigation, including specialists from the regional Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team. Behavioral profilers have also offered input on any potential kidnappers.
Scott said the search would have to continue to expand beyond the city limits, targeting logging roads or other remote areas farther afield. But he vowed it would go on as long as necessary.
“We’re going to bring Lindsey home,” he said. “We will find her. If I have to knock on every door in Grays Harbor County to do that, I will.”
Grays Harbor Undersheriff Rick Scott, right, with Ron Twersky, assistant special agent in charge with the FBI, explain to reporters Wednesday that authorities are shifting more resources to a criminal investigation as the search for 10-year-old Lindsey Baum of McCleary stretches through its fifth day.
Article:
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/07/02/local_news/doc4a4cf43c1b1dd881132403.txt
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VIDEO: FBI and sheriff news briefing on missing girl
Thursday, July 2, 2009 12:59 PM PDT
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Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ron Twersky and Grays Harbor Undersheriff Rick Scott brief reporters on the latest efforts to find 10-year-old Lindsey Baum, who disappeared from McCleary late Friday night. The search has entered its sixth day as investigators shift more toward an abduction investigation.
4-Video Clips Of The FBI & Sheriff Briefing Are In This Link!
Article:
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/07/02/local_news/doc4a4d0538846a1522165910.txt
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FBI: Stranger not likely behind girl's disappearance
Story Published: Jul 2, 2009 at 1:09 PM PDT
Story Updated: Jul 2, 2009 at 1:09 PM PDT
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Experts with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children say if the girl was abducted, it most likely wasn't by a stranger who was hiding in the bushes.
"From what knowledge we have and the information that I have that it's someone that she possibly knows, somebody that is in the area," said Henry Schmidt with the organization.
The FBI now wants neighbors to think about anyone who may have been in the area Friday night. They also want to hear about anyone suddenly engaging in strange behavior, such as not showing up for work, selling their car for no reason or changing their appearance.
"We're certainly not looking for a witch hunt or anything of that sort, but the bottom line is we have a missing girl. And so anyone who is in this area is going to be someone we want to talk to," said Ron Twersky, FBI assistant special agent in charge.
The missing girl's mother, who wanted avoid becoming the center of the investigation, voluntarily took a polygraph test. The father of the girl's best friend, Scott Williams, also volunteered to take the test.
"At their requests polygraphs were given to them. They passed those polygraphs. We're comfortable with the information they've shared with us and comfortable with the timeline they've explained," said Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott.
VIDEO: FBI: Stranger not likely behind girl's disappearance
http://www.katu.com/news/local/49651607.html?video=YHI&t=a
Article:
http://www.katu.com/news/local/49651607.html
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VIDEO: Girl vanishes while walking home 3:26
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/06/30/pn.lindsey.baum.missing.cnn
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VIDEO: Search for Washington girl 3:17
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/07/01/ng.girl.vanish.cnn
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VIDEO: Baum's mom to take polygraph 1:29
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/07/02/ng.mom.poly.cnn
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VIDEO UNCUT: Vigil For Missing McCleary Girl
http://www.kirotv.com/video/19920349/index.html
:angel: