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Searchers spent weekend combing for evidence in Baum case

Published 7:00 pm Monday, May 21, 2018

KITTITAS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE PHOTO Investigators and searchers gather near the site where Lindsey Baum’s remains were found in western Kittitas County near Ellensburg. Dozens of investigators from 10 different agencies searched the site, about 20 miles west of Ellensburg, May 12, using K9 units and search and rescue personnel to scour the area for evidence in the abduction and murder of Baum, who went missing in 2009 at the age of 10 while walking home from a friend’s home in McCleary. The search area is vast and rugged and will require additional searches, according to Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott. Searches are being coordinated by the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.
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KITTITAS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE PHOTO

Investigators and searchers gather near the site where Lindsey Baum’s remains were found in western Kittitas County near Ellensburg. Dozens of investigators from 10 different agencies searched the site, about 20 miles west of Ellensburg, May 12, using K9 units and search and rescue personnel to scour the area for evidence in the abduction and murder of Baum, who went missing in 2009 at the age of 10 while walking home from a friend’s home in McCleary. The search area is vast and rugged and will require additional searches, according to Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott. Searches are being coordinated by the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.

KITTITAS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE PHOTO Investigators and searchers gather near the site where Lindsey Baum’s remains were found in western Kittitas County near Ellensburg. Dozens of investigators from 10 different agencies searched the site, about 20 miles west of Ellensburg, May 12, using K9 units and search and rescue personnel to scour the area for evidence in the abduction and murder of Baum, who went missing in 2009 at the age of 10 while walking home from a friend’s home in McCleary. The search area is vast and rugged and will require additional searches, according to Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott. Searches are being coordinated by the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.
KITTITAS COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE PHOTO Searchers from multiple agencies returned to a remote area west of Ellensburg over the weekend to search for evidence where the remains of Lindsey Baum were discovered last fall. Baum was 10 years old when she was abducted in McCleary in 2009.

Investigators and volunteer search teams over the weekend revisited the location where the remains of Lindsey Baum were found. She went missing in 2009 at the age of 10 in McCleary, and her remains were found last fall by hunters near Manastash about 20 miles west of Ellensburg in Kittitas County.

Investigators are searching for anything that may be related to the skeletal remains.

Search efforts over the past two weekends have drawn nearly 200 volunteers and law enforcement officials and 22 K9 teams from across the region, according to a statement released Sunday by the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office. The search is believed to be one of the largest in state history, based on the number of personnel involved.

The search area covers approximately two square miles and is located roughly 20 miles west of Ellensburg, and is described as steep and heavily timbered with large cliffs and deep ravines.

Parts of the Manastash recreation area were closed through the weekend due to the search.

“We greatly appreciate the public’s cooperation and patience with the road and area closures,” Undersheriff Clay Myers said. “The preservation and discovery of evidence is of utmost importance in this case to increase the opportunity for a successful conclusion.”

The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office is working in conjunction with the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott and the FBI continue to lead the investigation into Baum’s disappearance. As of last week, Scott said Baum’s remains are still in the custody of the FBI and there’s more testing to be done.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the tip line at 360-964-1799, or email baumtips@co.grays-harbor.wa.us.

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