Zahra Baker Case: Police Focus on Caldwell Co. Where Bone and Leg Were Found

Update on the Zahra Baker case. Police focus on Caldwell County where a human bone and prosthetic leg were both found this week in the same area. Ten year old Zahra Baker has been missing since at least October 9, 2010 when she was reported missing by her father, Adam Baker. Police do not know exactly when she went missing because the last time she was seen by anyone but her father and stepmother, Elisa Baker, was September 25, 2010.

After collecting evidence, police are presuming that Zahra is dead and they are searching for her remains. Zahra was recovering from bone cancer and had a prosthetic leg and two hearing aids. Her hearing aids were found at home, but her prosthetic leg was found in a neighboring county where her stepmother, Elisa Baker use to live.

A human bone was found in the same vicinity as the prosthetic leg in Caldwell County, North Carolina.

Zahra Baker's stepmother, Elisa Baker, is currently in jail on obstruction of justice charges stemming from the false information she has given to police and a phony ransom note that she wrote to lead investigators astray. A grand jury indicted her on the two charges this week. Her bail has been raised because investigators believe that she is a flight risk.

Recently investigators were given letters written by Elisa Baker since she has been in custody, which reveal that Zahra is not missing according to her, she is dead, but not killed by her or Adam Baker. She did reveal in the letters that Adam Baker did something "horrifying" to Zahra after she was dead.

This case has taken many twists and turn since it was first reported last month. At least police seem to have more evidence and information than other cases such as missing Oregon boy, Kyron Horman.

Adam Baker first reported his disable daughter missing on October 9, 2010 in the evening. He said that she had last been seen at 2:30 a.m. He also said that they had been distracted due to a fire set in his backyard earlier in the day and a ransom note written to his boss regarding an abduction of his boss' daughter. Police checked on Baker's boss and the boss' daughter, both were fine. Then Baker theorized that his daughter had been kidnapped by mistake.

He also told police that she did not come out of her room very much because she was "brooding" due to her age and puberty. Friends and neighbors quickly responded that Zahra was a sweet, lovely little girl that was abused physically and verbally by her stepmother, Elisa Baker. They had reported the abuse to social services, but nothing was done prior to her disappearance.

Police arrested Elisa Baker initially on unrelated charges. She then confessed to writing the fake ransom note, but denied having anything to do with Zahra's disappearance.

Adam Baker was also arrested on bad check charges and then released on bail.

Adam and his daughter, Zahra, initially came to America from Australia after Adam met Elisa online. They married more than one year ago and placed Zahra in public school. This year they failed to register her for school and Elisa claimed that she began home schooling, but there are not records of registration for home schooling.

Hopefully the bone found and prosthetic leg that belongs to Zahra will bring police closer to solving this case.

Source:

Charlotte Observer