McCleary, Wash., July 13, 2009

Race to Find Girl Before Dad Goes To Iraq

Lindsey Baum, 11, Missing More than Two Weeks; Dad's National Guard Unit Deploying Soon

  • LIndsey Baum, 11

    LIndsey Baum, 11  (CBS)

  • Play CBS Video Video Girl Disappears, Dad to Deploy

    The search continues for an 11-year-old Wash. girl who disappeared. Julie Chen spoke with the parents of the missing girl, whose father will soon be deployed to Iraq.

(CBS)  A desperate search for a Washington State girl missing for more than two weeks is all-the-more urgent because her father is due to deploy to Iraq soon.

Police say Lindsey Baum, 11, of the small town of McCleary, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, vanished the night of June 26 while walking home from a friend's house just four blocks away.

More than 100 searchers have used dogs, horses and helicopters seeking any trace of Lindsey, but investigators says they have little to go on, and they're appealing to the public for help.

Lindsey's father, Scott Baum, made an emotional appeal to anyone knowing her whereabouts, saying, "Please bring me my daughter home before I have to leave" for Iraq.

With their daughter missing, Lindsey's parents, who are divorced, marked her 11th birthday on July 7 with a plea for her safe return.

On "The Early Show" Monday, Scott told co-anchor Julie Chen, "My heart's really heavy. ... I'm torn between sense of family and duty." He added that his commanders in the military have given him as uch time as he needs to see his personal ordeal through.

Asked by Chen what she would say if Lindsey could hear her, Lindsey's mother, Melissa Baum, repsonded, "I want Lindsey to know that I love her more than anything in the world and that I'm not giving up on her. I will never stop looking for her. I will look for her until I have her in my arms again."

"My heart tels me she's alive," Melissa said. "I really don't doubt that. Where, I would give anything if I had a clue as to where she was."

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by gps-gai October 19, 2009 6:34 AM EDT
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7973/picture1ch.png do I win a prize?
Reply to this comment
by niquice July 18, 2009 1:33 AM EDT
GOOD LUCK. MAY GOD BLESS THE CHILD AND FAMILY. WE SHALL PRAY FOR YOUR FAMILY. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE TO EMBARK UPON IN DEFENSE OF THE USA. WE ARE GRATEFUL. JUST KNOW THAT GODS EYES ARE WATCHING OVER YOUR FAMILY. I HOPE THIS NOTE REACHES YOUR FAMILY AND YOU ARE AS WELL AS CAN BE EXPECTED.
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by CallitasIseeit July 14, 2009 7:14 PM EDT
Everyone calm down with the father going to Iraq deal. As a National Guardsman in Iraq right now, there is no way they will make him come over here unless he wants to. He is obviously using that factor for the publicity aspect. I do not blame him. My command nearly released me from this deployment due to Hurricane Ike. I had to convince them that my home life was stable enough to handle it. There will be no brig, or desertion, or AWOL. They will simply leave him home, and he will perform his one weekend a month with the rear detachment of his unit. As for this mans daughter I pray they find her.
Reply to this comment
by erasmus111 July 13, 2009 10:33 PM EDT
by avigil2 July 13, 2009 7:50 PM EDT
by justcurious777: Do you think people have really gotten this much stupider over the years?

Uh, the obvious answer is YES, since there is no word "stupider".


And I just bet you are THE most PERFECT human being on this planet, huh?
Reply to this comment
by erasmus111 July 13, 2009 10:53 PM EDT
This is how the post should have read:

by justcurious777: Do you think people have really gotten this much stupider over the years?


by avigil2 July 13, 2009 7:50 PM EDT
Uh, the obvious answer is YES, since there is no word "stupider".



And I just bet you are THE most PERFECT human being on this planet, huh?
by windsng July 13, 2009 9:43 PM EDT
I just do not see where this father would be effective in Iraq with his little girl missing! Could this man not be assigned a duty here in the states?

Prayers this child is found soon and that she is found alive!
Reply to this comment
by erasmus111 July 13, 2009 2:36 PM EDT
by IThoughtItWasFunnyNOPE July 13, 2009 11:21 AM PDT

People in small rural towns do not have to worry about their children's safety outside the home as they do in the ghetto's of the city among hundreds of thousands of whacko strangers...in small rural towns, everybody basically knows everybody else...children walk the streets here at night unmolested all the time, especially in the summer when kids play together late...


But that is changing. There have been a number of cases now where it has happened in small towns.
Reply to this comment
by IThoughtItWasFunnyNOPE July 13, 2009 2:21 PM EDT
The police aren't revealing much info about the case, but I'm sure they have their suspicions and that leaves one with a lot of questions...

Sending up prayers for the child's return...

But just a note:

People in small rural towns do not have to worry about their children's safety outside the home as they do in the ghetto's of the city among hundreds of thousands of whacko strangers...in small rural towns, everybody basically knows everybody else...children walk the streets here at night unmolested all the time, especially in the summer when kids play together late...

When my children were house swamping play time after dark, I did instruct my children to call me when they headed out for home and I would be outside watching them...just because I'm extra precautious from having lived in the city before...people in small towns off the beaten path have pro'bly never encountered danger for their children.
Reply to this comment
by erasmus111 July 13, 2009 2:04 PM EDT
by justcurious777 July 13, 2009 10:10 AM PDT

PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE YOUR KIDS ARE, WHO THEY'RE WITH, AND HOW & WHEN THEY'RE COMING HOME.

Do you think people have really gotten this much stupider over the years? What's behind this - has it always been like this and we just hear about it more often now? Or is humankind's repsect/regard for life just eroding slowly away?



Yes, I think people have become more stupid, selfish, and LAZY. A lot of parents don't even know where their kids are!

I always made sure that I knew where my kids were. I usually drove them to where they were going and picked them up. If they were going to someone's house, I would phone the parents to make sure they were going to be home. And if I had any doubts, I would phone and check. I also did not drop them off at the mall for hours like a lot of parents do. And I LISTENED to what they were saying. You can learn a lot by listening. There are parents that think that may be a little over protective, but my kids are ALIVE. They are also kind and have respect for others. I wonder if that could be from the fact that they knew that their parents CARED?


"Or is humankind's repsect/regard for life just eroding slowly away?"

I believe this to be true. The kids now have very little respect for others. There is something seriously wrong.
Reply to this comment
by summarex July 13, 2009 1:12 PM EDT
Waitaminute
This whole thing sounds odd. The military would never knowingly, forcibly deploy a soldier whose child had just gone missing.
Something is missing here.
Reply to this comment
by dagrandma July 13, 2009 1:22 PM EDT
READ THE WHOLE STORY!
by billythinks July 13, 2009 1:08 PM EDT
Dad has to stay, no debate needed whatsoever! Nor fair for mother to have to deal with this burden alone, even if they are divorced. We actually just started a debate/conversation on this topic at <a href="http://www.billythinks.com">www.billythinks.com.</a>
Reply to this comment
by puzzler125 July 13, 2009 12:31 PM EDT
This man deserves a break for compassionate reasons. He will not be able to concentrate until, and probably well after, his daughter is found no matter what the outcome. Let's get this the attention it deserves to keep him here!
Reply to this comment
by erasmus111 July 13, 2009 12:30 PM EDT
"Police say Lindsey Baum, 11, of the small town of McCleary, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, vanished the night of June 26 while walking home from a friend's house just four blocks away."


I know that I am going to get heck for what I am going to say, but, oh well.

When are people going to learn? We are reading in the news constantly of kids going missing, stupid accidents happening, all because parents can't look after their kids!

Why would you allow your young daughter to walk home at night ALONE?!! It only takes 1 block for someone to snatch her. With the whackos that are around nowadays, you would think people would learn.

If this child was living with her mother, then yes, the father needs to stay home in case they find her, so that HE can look after her.

I know that these two parents are in agony right now, and I do feel for them, but this could have been avoided so easily. The one that I feel the most agony for....THE CHILD!
Reply to this comment
by justcurious777 July 13, 2009 1:10 PM EDT
EXACTLY! What were these people thinking?

It is possible that her parents did not know she was walking home alone from her friends house but WHY would the friends' parents just let her go like that? If she had been spending the night with her friend and changed her mind, why didn't they take her home or call her parents to come get her?

PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE YOUR KIDS ARE, WHO THEY'RE WITH, AND HOW & WHEN THEY'RE COMING HOME.

Do you think people have really gotten this much stupider over the years? What's behind this - has it always been like this and we just hear about it more often now? Or is humankind's repsect/regard for life just eroding slowly away?
by avigil2 July 13, 2009 7:50 PM EDT
by justcurious777: Do you think people have really gotten this much stupider over the years?

Uh, the obvious answer is YES, since there is no word "stupider".
by jwesel1 July 23, 2009 2:11 PM EDT
Both stupider and stupidest r inglesh words and u just proved urself two be 1. B4 u atak some1's lexikon, chek out www.m-w.com.

C if u kan find any mistaik in my inglish.
by John_Merritt July 13, 2009 11:26 AM EDT
Do you ladies even read these stories?

"He added that his commanders in the military have given him as much time as he needs to see his personal ordeal through."

Do you think that means he can stay and try to find his daughter? Military is all about family. They know they will have 1/2 a soldier if their is something desperately amiss at home.

If he was overseas, they would probably give him a furlough to come home and assist others in finding his daughter.
Reply to this comment
by redrubberballs July 13, 2009 11:25 AM EDT
Say a prayer for this little girl.
Reply to this comment
by jayelle5 July 13, 2009 10:52 AM EDT
I can't believe that the Army would really deploy this father to Iraq while his child is missing. I'm sure they would delay his deployment while a search is still underway for the daughter.
Reply to this comment
by carilovesscott July 13, 2009 10:48 AM EDT
does he have a choice?? can he say he is staying here??
Reply to this comment
by SickofCrime July 13, 2009 10:44 AM EDT
I would tell the National Guard to go on without me and wish them luck. There is NO WAY I would leave a situation like that.
Reply to this comment
by calibug724 July 13, 2009 9:17 AM EDT
How does the government think this father is going to be able to concentrate on defending this country, if all he can think about is....where's my little girl?
Reply to this comment
by jwesel1 July 23, 2009 1:53 PM EDT
How does the government think this fathre is going to be able to concentratre on killing Iraqi children, if all he can think about is.... where is my little child?
See all 24 Comments

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