Zahra Claire Baker Update: Authorities Conduct "Grid Search" for Missing Girl at Tree Service Company
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBS) Authorities in North Carolina are determined to find missing 10-year-old Zahra Claire Baker and are leaving no stone unturned, especially at a tree service company where investigators continue to plow through "every piece" for traces of the young girl.
Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt told FoxNews.com that investigators were going to conduct a "grid search" Thursday of Real Tree Services in Morganton, N.C., Zahra's father, Adam Baker, works as a laborer.
Authorities returned to the workplace which is 19 miles away from the child's home because the company owns a lot of equipment, including a wood chipper, that they would like to "eliminate" in the search for the little girl, the cable newschannel reported.
"We're going to move every piece of everything to eliminate that property today," McDevitt said in an interview with FoxNews.com.
Late Wednesday afternoon investigators drained a pond on the same property, but did not find any remains of the young girl who was described by friends as happy and outgoing despite her bout with bone cancer.
McDevitt told FoxNews.com that the search thus far has not yielded any clues in case saying, "At this point we're just trying to eliminate spots."
According to the interview, the police close to the investigation claims Zahra's father has been labeled as uncooperative which calls into question his credibility.
Meanwhile, Zahra's stepmother Elise Baker who has been called "a person of interest" in the disappearance is behind bars for felony obstruction of justice.
Authorities say Elisa Baker allegedly confessed to writing a fake ransom note demanding $1 million in an attempt to distract police investigators from finding out what really happened to the girl.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF ZAHRA CLAIRE BAKER ON CRIMESIDER