The Hunt For Lindsey Baum's Killer.

Lindsey Jo Baum

Always you will be part of me

And I will forever feel your strength

When I need it most

You're gone now, gone but not forgotten

I can't say this to your face

But I know you here

Ill see you again

You never really left

I feel you walk beside me

I know Ill see you again

When I'm lost, when I'm missing you like crazy

I tell myself I'm so blessed

To have had you in my life, my life

Ill see you again

You never really left

I feel you walk beside me

I know Ill see you again

When I had the time to tell you

Never thought Id live to see the day

When the words I should have said

Would come to haunt me

In my darkest hour I tell myself

Ill see you again

-Westlife

She was an “itty-bitty thing,” active, bright, tender and spunky. Her family joked that she was talking a mile a minute from the moment she was born. She was a momma’s girl who hated being out past dark. She’d scribble stories on napkins at restaurants, commenting to her mother how one day, the books in her overflowing shelf would be her own.

She was born on July 7th, 1998 in Tennessee to Melissa Baum. Lindsey had a older brother named Joshua. 

Melissa divorced the kids' father and looking for a fresh start, she along, with Lindsey and Joshua, moved to McCleary, Washington. 

McCleary was a small, quiet, town with a population of 15,000 people. It felt safe to Melissa. The kids loved it there and were making friends and doing well, especially Lindsey.

On June, 25th, 2009, 10-year-old Lindsey was just a few weeks away from her 11th birthday. That night, she told her mom that she was frightened that something bad was going to happen to her very soon. When asked what she meant, Lindsey said that she didn't know and that she just had a feeling.

The next day, Lindsey appeared to be back to her normal, happy self. It was a hot, blistering day. 

Lindsey and Joshua had spend day swimming at a friends house a few blocks away. After that, the pair returned home before heading out once more.  

Lindsey and Joshua walked a short distance to the home of Lindsey's friend, Michaela. Along the way, Joshua was sent back home after he and Lindsey had a fight over a bike. Lindsey hung out at Michaela's for a while. At about, 9:15 p.m., she became upset that Michaela couldn't spend the night and headed home. 

Melissa became worried when Lindsey hadn't made it home by her 9:30 p.m. curfew. Around 10 p.m., Melissa called Michaela's home and spoke to her mother, who said she hadn’t seen Lindsey in more than an hour. Melissa tried to ring her daughter's newly purchased cell phone, only to discover it was accidentally left home on its charger. At around 11 p.m., Melissa called 911 and reported Lindsey missing.

The search was on for Lindsey. Local law enforcement, firefighters as well as Lindsey's family and friends did a search of the immediate neighborhood. Melissa kept driving around hoping she'd find Lindsey on the side of the road somewhere.

The search continued for 10 days and involved over 240 people. Helicopters flew overhead and cadaver dogs were brought in. Even police on horseback joined in.

Police dive teams searched the water and behavioral analysts were brought in but none of this fruited any clues as to Lindsey's whereabouts.

Later it was found out that prior to Lindsey's disappearance, Lindsey and Micheala had been at the local park. A man came in on them while they were in the bathroom there. They also had felt like they were being followed by a man in a white vehicle.

This is surveillance footage from a nearby gas station of a vehicle meeting the description that Micheala gave to authorities. 

A 47-year-old man who, police said, provided “inconsistent statements” and lived on the route that Lindsey had taken home that fateful day, had his house searched. Nothing was found there either. He remains a person of interest.

Investigators also searched the home of local jewelry/pawn shop owner Tim Hartman. 

His shop was on the street where Lindsey disappeared. Tim had previously volunteered to take Melissa out to search for Lindsey. He had denied being in McCleary during the hours that Lindsey had disappeared. Tim said he was out of town training as a part of being a volunteer firefighter.

Surveillance footage from a local store in McCleary proved that he was lying. During the search, ropes and handwritten notes about Lindsey’s disappearance were discovered. He remains a person of interest.

In 2014, police investigated whether a man who had been charged with sexually abusing a child could have had anything to do with Lindsey’s case. As far as i know, he was never charged in her case.

During the summer of 2017, three elderly brothers known as the Emery brothers were arrested 17 miles away from Lindsey's home and charged with possession of pornography. Investigators searched their home for a possible connection to Lindsey. Writings that indicated desires to kill children and an "obsession" with young girls were found. Police also searched the home of another one of the brothers, who is now deceased. He lived 30 minutes away from Lindsey's home. They have yet to be charged as well.

Also in 2017, a hunter found human remains in a remote area of Eastern Washington, over three hours away from Lindsey’s home in McCleary. The remains were sent to Quantico, Virginia for forensic testing. 

On May 10th, 2018, sadly, investigators announced that the remains had been positively identified as Lindsey. Her case is now classified as a homicide and police are looking for a suspect. 

Justice For Lindsey Baum

A remembrance garden was dedicated to Lindsey this year at Beerbower Park in McCleary. Melissa said the garden was a place where Lindsey’s “spirit could be felt, her laughter be heard.”