Race to Find Girl Before Dad Goes 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."

[gps-gai]

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7973/picture1ch.png do I win a prize?

[niquice]

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.

[CallitasIseeit]

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.

[erasmus111]

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?

[erasmus111]

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?

[windsng]

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!

[erasmus111]

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.

[IThoughtItWasFunnyNOPE]

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.

[erasmus111]

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.

[billythinks]

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>

[puzzler125]

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!