10-21-2010, 09:35 AM
From the Hickory Daily (Broken) Record -
Investigators are looking through mounds of garbage in a landfill in Caldwell County, hoping to find a key piece of evidence in the Zahra Baker case.
Hickory police, the State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, the U.S. Marshal Service and Evidence Recovery Team members are combing through the trash at Foothills Environmental Landfill. The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office and the Hickory Fire Department are supporting search efforts. Investigators began their search at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins declined to say what piece of evidence investigators are looking for, saying only that it could take several days for the search team to find it. He did state it was not Zahra’s body, however.
Ten-year-old Zahra was first reported missing Oct. 9 by her father, Adam Baker, although Hickory police believe she’s been missing longer than that. She was last seen by someone outside the family on Sept. 25 at In Your Home Furnishings on U.S. 70, SE, in Hickory. Zahra was in the store with her stepmother, Elisa Baker.
Baker, 42, is currently in jail for writing a false ransom note, in which she demanded $1 million. Police charged Baker with obstruction of justice. They also arrested her on several other charges unrelated to Zahra’s disappearance.
Police initially called Zahra’s disappearance a missing person’s case. On Oct. 12, that was changed to a homicide investigation. On Wednesday, Adkins again declined to say why the investigation was changed.
“We have not found her body,” he said. “We continue to have hope, but we are running a homicide investigation.”
The police department has been planning its search of the landfill since Friday.
“We’ll search only when the landfill is open,” Adkins said. “It could last up to five days.”
The landfill is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. When a team is not searching, law enforcement will be posted outside the landfill to ensure the search is not compromised. Personal vehicles wanting to drop off trash will be turned away.
The landfill gets 1,200 tons of trash from Burke, McDowell, Yadkin, Alleghany, Alexander, Mitchell, Yancy, Watauga and Caldwell counties daily into 40 acres of the landfill, said LouAnne Kincaid, public information officer for Caldwell County. The landfill does not incinerate any trash it collects, leaving piles for officers to search through.
Adkins declined to comment on how the piece of evidence investigators are searching for may have gotten into the landfill.
“I hope that if we find this evidence, it will provide a good, solid timeline in the case,” he said. “Interviews have led us to it.”
A team with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was flown to the Catawba Valley and also is helping with the search. According to the Hickory Police Department, the team that flew to the area provides on-ground technical assistance and connects area law enforcement with a network of national resources.
Adkins still urged anyone who has seen Zahra in the last month to come forward.
“We have had different family members tell us different timelines. We’re looking for other people to help confirm it,” he said. “The timeline is so crucial to the investigation. We’re determined to find the truth and seek justice.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at (828) 328-5551.
Investigators are looking through mounds of garbage in a landfill in Caldwell County, hoping to find a key piece of evidence in the Zahra Baker case.
Hickory police, the State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, the U.S. Marshal Service and Evidence Recovery Team members are combing through the trash at Foothills Environmental Landfill. The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office and the Hickory Fire Department are supporting search efforts. Investigators began their search at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins declined to say what piece of evidence investigators are looking for, saying only that it could take several days for the search team to find it. He did state it was not Zahra’s body, however.
Ten-year-old Zahra was first reported missing Oct. 9 by her father, Adam Baker, although Hickory police believe she’s been missing longer than that. She was last seen by someone outside the family on Sept. 25 at In Your Home Furnishings on U.S. 70, SE, in Hickory. Zahra was in the store with her stepmother, Elisa Baker.
Baker, 42, is currently in jail for writing a false ransom note, in which she demanded $1 million. Police charged Baker with obstruction of justice. They also arrested her on several other charges unrelated to Zahra’s disappearance.
Police initially called Zahra’s disappearance a missing person’s case. On Oct. 12, that was changed to a homicide investigation. On Wednesday, Adkins again declined to say why the investigation was changed.
“We have not found her body,” he said. “We continue to have hope, but we are running a homicide investigation.”
The police department has been planning its search of the landfill since Friday.
“We’ll search only when the landfill is open,” Adkins said. “It could last up to five days.”
The landfill is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. When a team is not searching, law enforcement will be posted outside the landfill to ensure the search is not compromised. Personal vehicles wanting to drop off trash will be turned away.
The landfill gets 1,200 tons of trash from Burke, McDowell, Yadkin, Alleghany, Alexander, Mitchell, Yancy, Watauga and Caldwell counties daily into 40 acres of the landfill, said LouAnne Kincaid, public information officer for Caldwell County. The landfill does not incinerate any trash it collects, leaving piles for officers to search through.
Adkins declined to comment on how the piece of evidence investigators are searching for may have gotten into the landfill.
“I hope that if we find this evidence, it will provide a good, solid timeline in the case,” he said. “Interviews have led us to it.”
A team with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was flown to the Catawba Valley and also is helping with the search. According to the Hickory Police Department, the team that flew to the area provides on-ground technical assistance and connects area law enforcement with a network of national resources.
Adkins still urged anyone who has seen Zahra in the last month to come forward.
“We have had different family members tell us different timelines. We’re looking for other people to help confirm it,” he said. “The timeline is so crucial to the investigation. We’re determined to find the truth and seek justice.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at (828) 328-5551.