Zahra Claire Baker
Endangered Missing from Hickory, North Carolina since October 9, 2010
Age: 10 -- Height: 5'0" -- Weight: 5'5" -- Hair Color: Lt. Brown -- Eye Color: Blue
Zahra is hearing impaired. She has lost a leg due to cancer.
Zahra was reported missing from Hickory, North Carolina on October 9, 2010 after her father and step-mother reported last seeing her early that morning. An AMBER Alert was issued for her, and a ransom note was found on a vehicle outside.
Zahra's step-mother, Elisa Baker, was arrested a few days later on unrelated charges. She later admitted to writing the ransom note. Cadaver dogs also detected the smell of human remains on two cars at the Baker's residence. The AMBER Alert was cancelled, and Zahra's case was changed from a focus on an abduction to a focus on a homicide.
Authorities are unsure when exactly Zahra was last seen by anyone outside of her family. It may have been 2-3 weeks before she was reported missing.
Investigators have searched the Baker's home, yard, bodies of water, woods, landfills, and more for Zahra, as well as evidence in her case. A mattress believed to be Zahra's was found in a landfill. And Zahra's prosthetic leg was found in a brushy area on the side of a road. Zahra is believed to be deceased.
NCMEC
Project Jason