FBI: Stranger not likely behind Lindsey Baum's disappearance

July 2, 2009

By KOMO Staff & News Services
komonews.com

MCCLEARY, Wash. -- The massive ground search for the missing 10-year-old girl was scaled back on Wednesday as investigators turned the focus of their work from searching to following up on tips they've received.
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On Wednesday a second person came forward to report having seen Lindsey Baum on Friday night as she walked home along Maple Street from a friend's house.
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Experts with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children say if the girl was abducted, it most likely wasn't by a stranger who was hiding in the bushes. "From what knowledge we have and the information that I have that it's someone that she possibly knows, somebody that is in the area," said Henry Schmidt with the organization.
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The FBI now wants neighbors to think about anyone who may have been in the area Friday night. They also want to hear about anyone suddenly engaging in strange behavior, such as not showing up for work, selling their car for no reason or changing their appearance.
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"We're certainly not looking for a witch hunt or anything of that sort, but the bottom line is we have a missing girl. And so anyone who is in this area is going to be someone we want to talk to," said Ron Twersky, FBI assistant special agent in charge.
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The missing girl's mother, who wanted to avoid becoming the center of the investigation, voluntarily took a polygraph test. The father of the girl's best friend, Scott Williams, also volunteered to take the test.
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"At their requests polygraphs were given to them. They passed those polygraphs. We're comfortable with the information they've shared with us and comfortable with the timeline they've explained," said Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott.
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Lindsey Baum is 4 foot-9, 80 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, last seen wearing a light blue hooded pullover shirt and blue jeans.