NC - Zahra Clare Baker, 10, Hickory, 9 Oct 2010 - #1

[eyes4crime]

Dad says he saw Zahra Thursday night. Other than step-mom checking on her, is Thursday night the last legitimate sighting of Zahra? I'm going crazy for a time-line.

Does anyone know when Zahra was diagnosed with the bone tumor? Was it after stepmom and dad were married? In the last 3 years? TIA

 

[nursebeeme]

I hope some smart and savvy media peeps are trying to get a statement out of DSS about now.

further thoughts::

~are they (Dad and Zahra) American citizens?
~would the marriage have sealed the citizenship?
~did SM adopt Zahra?

 

[Sherbie]

Thanks for the info. That's terrible and very sad news. wonder where bio dad was during all this? moo

You're very welcome. It sounds like dad works very long hours and is often gone before Zahra wakes and not home til after she's in bed. He said in that GMA interview that the last time he actually laid eyes on her was Thursday night. He left Fri morning before she woke and she was already asleep when he got home Fri evening.

Of course, since we have only the stepmom's word for it that Zahra was in her bed at 2:30 am Fri night/Sat morning, we really don't know how long she was actually missing.

I would love to know if anyone other than the stepmother saw Zahra between Thurs night when dad last saw her and Sat afternoon when stepmom said she had gone missing.

ETA: Looks like we had the same thought about the last time anyone actually saw her. I think this is very important and hope one of the reporters will ask about it at the next conference!

 

[nursebeeme]

Dad says he saw Zahra Thursday night. Other than step-mom checking on her, is Thursday night the last legitimate sighting of Zahra? I'm going crazy for a time-line.

Does anyone know when Zahra was diagnosed with the bone tumor? Was it after stepmom and dad were married? In the last 3 years? TIA

LE stated at the presser that they don't know yet who was the last other than the family to see Zahra and none of the neighbors have seen her outside!

http://charlotte.news14.com/content...ry-to-create-timeline-in-girl-s-disappearance

watch these videos (click play and they will play one after the next) The reporter on site was the same reporter that interviewed Zahra in May for the hearing aids at the CMS

 

[nursebeeme]

The FBI and U.S. Marshals are now involved in the search for a 10-year-old Hickory girl reported missing Saturday afternoon.

Police chief Tom Adkins said during a news conference Monday that authorities are trying to pinpoint the last time Zahra Baker was seen by anyone other than her father or stepmother, now a person of interest in the case.

When police responded to the family's Hickory home, they found the girl's hearing aids, leading them to believe she did not run away. They are now looking for surveillance video from local businesses to try to spot the girl before she was reported missing.

http://charlotte.news14.com/content...ry-to-create-timeline-in-girl-s-disappearance

 

[big4dropout]

Hey sleuths, I am from and currently reside in Hickory. I don't have any insider info yet but I will definitely share anything I can. I'll drive by on my way home from work; it's about 2 miles from my house.

Some thoughts thus far after reading this thread:

I've seen the address 21 21st Ave. NW on here and in the articles. I hope this link works, but if not, you can enter the address on Googlemaps. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=21+21...code_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ8gEwAA
Someone mentioned the address system in Hickory, so I'll briefly explain. All the roads are numbers. Avenues go east to west, Streets go North to South. The numbers begin downtown with Main Street and Main Avenue (runs parallel to the railroad tracks), and then increase in number as you travel out. So 21st Ave NW is 21 blocks north of center/downtown.

Hickory is divided into 4 quadrants: NW, NE, SW, SE. NW is generally a good area. You can see that it is close to the country club. They live in a smaller house close to 127, the main road that runs through the old side of town. 21st Ave NW goes straight to Lake Hickory, the body of water some of you mentioned. It's not at true lake; it's just a still area of the Catawba River. I would not be surprised if they end up searching the lake. It gets cleaned once a year and it's not unusual to find cars, dead cows, and all sorts of strange things in there.

The police record shows a different address for SM. I'll check it out and report back after I go to lunch (boss is asking me why I'm not eating, lol).

As far as the homeschooling thing, that concerns me, too. They live in one of the best districts in town for schools--she would probably be in the district to attend Viewmont Elementary. Also, there is an excellent school for the deaf and hearing impaired about 20-30 minutes away (in Burke Co where SM apparently used to work). They accept students from all over the state and maybe beyond, and it is state funded.

I'll be back with more maps and info after lunch.

 

[Shutterfly]

I'd really like to know what sparked the "brush" fire in the yard. I hope LE sifted through and collected samples from what remained of that fire after the fact. It's just a little too coincidental that this child goes missing during the same time frame in which a random fire started in their back yard. Odd.

 

[nursebeeme]

Police are also investigating a fire that started on the front lawn of Zahra's home, but they're not saying how the fire started, or how it might be related to her Saturday morning disappearance.http://www.shelbystar.com/news/news-50485-hickory-police.html

first I am seeing "front lawn" reported as per the fire!

 

[nursebeeme]

thanks Big4!

 

[eyes4crime]

Evening, Thursday (Oct. 7th) - bio dad last saw Zahra at night

2:30am (Sat) - Zahra last seen sleeping in her room by step-mom.

5:00am (Sat) - Reported brush fire in back yard

2:30pm (Sat) - Reported Zahra missing

ETA: so now I'm wondering when was the last time anyone saw Zahra besides sm and bio dad?

 

[ella971]

This can't end well. Why does the step mom in her mug shot have a weird smile? I won't give up hope however I have a very bad feeling about this. Z is such a charming little girl I wonder if step mom resented her? Ah,who knows.I'm sick over this. SICK!!

 

[Oriah]

Police are also investigating a fire that started on the front lawn of Zahra's home, but they're not saying how the fire started, or how it might be related to her Saturday morning disappearance.http://www.shelbystar.com/news/news-50485-hickory-police.html

first I am seeing "front lawn" reported as per the fire!

Gotta love confused media reports.

 

[nursebeeme]

Gotta love confused media reports.

yeah.... this one says backyard:

A fire was reported in the back yard of the Bakers’ home about 5 a.m. He said he was in a big panic after the fire, but didn’t check on his daughter
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8432637/

 

[Sherbie]

Hey sleuths, I am from and currently reside in Hickory. I don't have any insider info yet but I will definitely share anything I can. I'll drive by on my way home from work; it's about 2 miles from my house.

Some thoughts thus far after reading this thread:

I've seen the address 21 21st Ave. NW on here and in the articles. I hope this link works, but if not, you can enter the address on Googlemaps. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=21+21...code_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ8gEwAA
Someone mentioned the address system in Hickory, so I'll briefly explain. All the roads are numbers. Avenues go east to west, Streets go North to South. The numbers begin downtown with Main Street and Main Avenue (runs parallel to the railroad tracks), and then increase in number as you travel out. So 21st Ave NW is 21 blocks north of center/downtown.

Hickory is divided into 4 quadrants: NW, NE, SW, SE. NW is generally a good area. You can see that it is close to the country club. They live in a smaller house close to 127, the main road that runs through the old side of town. 21st Ave NW goes straight to Lake Hickory, the body of water some of you mentioned. It's not at true lake; it's just a still area of the Catawba River. I would not be surprised if they end up searching the lake. It gets cleaned once a year and it's not unusual to find cars, dead cows, and all sorts of strange things in there.

The police record shows a different address for SM. I'll check it out and report back after I go to lunch (boss is asking me why I'm not eating, lol).

As far as the homeschooling thing, that concerns me, too. They live in one of the best districts in town for schools--she would probably be in the district to attend Viewmont Elementary. Also, there is an excellent school for the deaf and hearing impaired about 20-30 minutes away (in Burke Co where SM apparently used to work). They accept students from all over the state and maybe beyond, and it is state funded.

I'll be back with more maps and info after lunch.

Thank you so much, big4, for all that great info! That the lake is so nearby the home worries me. Like you, I also look for it to be searched.

 

[ella971]

Question for you all... What do you think? I'm asking gut feelings. I'm just wondering because like I stated I feel very sick. We don't have many facts. Any input would be helpful.TIA

 

[wfgodot]

Question for you all... What do you think? I'm asking gut feelings. I'm just wondering because like I stated I feel very sick. We don't have many facts. Any input would be helpful.TIA

I wish I could answer, "cautiously optimistic." But I can't.

 

[watcher9]

Trying to catch up on reading and it doesn't sound good at all.

Even though it has been discounted by the LE, the other scenario could still be a runaway situation.

1 - It was said that Zahra's hearing improved so much after getting some hearing aids, that she could hear better without them. (maybe she didn't want to take them)

2- Maybe there was friction in the household between Zahra and her new stepmom.

3 - Maybe moving to a new address recently could make Zahra homesick for her friends and old place.

4 - Maybe the fire was been set by Zahra to burn the house down and kill her stepmom?

I know that the last one was way out there, but just throwing out thoughts in my head.

 

[Shutterfly]

Here's another thing that strikes me as being odd. Fire in the yard; *IF* it were intentionally set, it could draw unwanted attention to people who were, oh I don't know, wanted? It sounds like a smoke screen, pardon the pun. But again, you don't do that if you're a fugitive from justice.

 

[eyes4crime]

Question for you all... What do you think? I'm asking gut feelings. I'm just wondering because like I stated I feel very sick. We don't have many facts. Any input would be helpful.TIA

I don't know ella - I'm wondering 'why now'? Why is Zahra missing now? What else is going on with step mom and the family?

Sorry you feel sick...:hug: for you.

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Please forgive me if I am out of line but my curious nature leads me to wonder about munchausens by proxy based on what I had read about the sm's public attentiveness to Z and the purported reports to DSS.

I don't know why but I just have a sick feeling about this little girl's disappearance.

MOO

wm