The disappearance and murder of Lindsey Baum
Mccleary, Grays Harbor County, Washington · June 26, 2009
A ten-year-old walking five blocks home on a summer evening vanished, and her remains were found eight years later in a remote part of eastern Washington; in 2023 about 160 searchers combed ten wooded acres on a tip, and in 2024 the sheriff said investigators had tied her to Kittitas County.
Overview
Lindsey Baum, 10, left a friend's house on Maple Street in McCleary, Washington, on the evening of June 26, 2009, to walk the five blocks home. A neighbor saw her between Fifth and Sixth Streets. She never arrived. Her new cell phone was still on its charger at home. The FBI's Seattle office joined the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office within two days, and dozens of agents and hundreds of searchers worked the town, but no sign of her was found. Warrants served in September 2009 and July 2010 led to no arrest. More than 40 people drew investigators' attention and none rose to the level of suspect. In September 2017 hunters found human remains in a remote area of eastern Washington near Ellensburg. On May 10, 2018, Sheriff Rick Scott announced that DNA matched Lindsey, and the case became a kidnapping and homicide investigation. In March 2023 about 160 searchers combed a ten-acre wooded area in Mason County on a tip, and in June 2024 the sheriff's office said it had established a connection between Lindsey and Kittitas County. No one has been charged.
Where it stands
The case is open and classed by the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office as a kidnapping and homicide. The FBI's Seattle office is a partner and offers a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of those responsible; some reports have cited larger combined rewards. No arrest has been made and no suspect has been publicly named. In 2016 Sheriff Rick Scott told Dateline that more than 20 search warrants had been executed, nearly 40 polygraph tests given and more than 40 people had drawn investigators' interest, none rising to the level of suspect, and that there was no piece of evidence of what happened to her. That changed only in part in 2017 and 2018. Hunters found remains near Ellensburg in September 2017, and DNA matched Lindsey in May 2018, but the sheriff has released few details about the scene or how she died. In 2019 he said the state Attorney General's cold case unit, the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children had been asked to review the file, and that DNA was not shaping up to be the answer. The recent development is a search. In early January 2023 the sheriff's office decided to look again at a roughly 10-acre area in Mason County because of information from the first investigation, and on March 25 and 26 about 160 people searched it on a tip. Chief of Special Services Paul Logan said persons of interest were still being investigated. Reports differ on the result: KIRO 7 reported that no evidence was reported found, while Dateline's update, citing KING 5, says up to 25 items were being looked at as possible evidence. The reports do not say what the items are. In June 2024 the sheriff's office said it now had a connection between Lindsey and Kittitas County. A tip-driven search in 2023 and a stated link to the county where her remains were found in 2024 are the most recent documented steps in the case.
Persons of interest
The theories below are reported strictly as attributed to the cited sources. Naming a person here is not an accusation. Individuals are named only where they are deceased, were formally charged, were officially named by authorities, or have been publicly cleared.
- A man deputies looked at in 2009Not publicly named
ABC News reported that deputies served search warrants on a man in September 2009 after a tipster said his car had been seen near where Lindsey was last seen, and that an affidavit found discrepancies in his alibi. The undersheriff said the search found nothing linking him to her disappearance.[5]
- A 47-year-old man whose home was searched in 2010Not publicly named
Dateline reported that police searched the home of a 47-year-old man a year after Lindsey disappeared who, police said, gave inconsistent statements. No arrest was made. The sheriff has said that more than 40 people have held investigators' interest and that none has risen to the level of suspect.[4]
Sources
- Seeking Information: Lindsey Baum
“In the fall of 2017, human remains were discovered in a remote location in eastern Washington. The remains were later confirmed to be those of Lindsey Baum.”
- Remains of missing Grays Harbor County girl recovered in Eastern Washington; case now a homicide investigation (May 2018)
“Remains discovered by hunters in September 2017 have been confirmed as those of Lindsey Baum, a 10-year-old Grays Harbor County girl who disappeared in 2009.”
- Remains of Washington girl missing since 2009 have been found, sheriff says (May 10, 2018)
“Because the remains were not associated with a specific criminal investigation, they were not analyzed until recently”
- Eight Years Later, No Answers in Disappearance of Lindsey Baum (with 2023 update)
“In 2023, authorities told KING5 that the investigation was still “very active” and that investigators had recently circled back to a tip where they searched a 10-acre piece of land and discovered up to 25 items that are “being looked at as possible evidence.””
- Cops' Search in Lindsey Baum Case Comes Up Empty (October 2009)
“Having served these warrants, we found nothing, so we're pursuing other leads.”
- FBI ramping up search for missing McCleary girl (January 27, 2010)
“The new money, which ups the reward from the previous offer of $10,000, is being provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Scott said.”
- New search for missing McCleary girl (July 13, 2010)
“Grays Harbor County sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents are searching two properties in McCleary for a girl who disappeared more than a year ago while walking home from a friend’s house.”
- 10 years later, detectives still search for answers in Lindsey Baum case (June 25, 2019)
“The sheriff did say that the cold case units with the state Attorney General's office, FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are being asked to review their case.”
- Tip leads to evidence search in abduction, murder of McCleary girl Lindsey Baum (April 5, 2023)
“The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office coordinated the evidence search on the weekend of Mar. 25 to 26 in a wooded area near West Fish Hatchery Road in Mason County.”
- Police search for new evidence in Lindsey Baum disappearance (April 2023)
“In early January of 2023, the sheriff's office decided to take another look at the roughly 10-acre area, an area approximately the size of eight football fields.”
- Monday marks 14 years since McCleary girl Lindsey Baum vanished (June 26, 2023)
“In March of this year, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office did a search for more evidence in the case. No evidence was reported to have been found.”
- Today Marks The 15th Anniversary Of The Disappearance Of Lindsey Baum (June 2024)
“Sheriff’s Investigators now say they have a connection for Lindsay with Kittitas County, and they are hoping someone that knows something about this case will come forward.”