McCleary, WA–McCleary, with a population of 1,550, is a town where most residents feel comfortable allowing their children to play outside until dark. In a town that size, everybody knows everybody and there are very few secrets between neighbors. Needless to say, residents in that tiny town are in shock over the disappearance of 10-year-old Lindsey Baum. Lindsey was visiting a friend’s home Friday evening… her friend’s father, Scott Williams, said he asked Lindsey to go home before it got too dark. “She was here 10, 15 minutes, and then, you know, we said, ‘You should probably get going before it gets dark,’ and that was the last we heard of her,” he said. She was last seen at about 9:15 p.m., as she set off to walk the four blocks to her home…a 10-minute walk. Lindsey never made it home.

When Lindsey hadn’t made it home by 10:50, her mother reported her missing. A search for the girl began that night. A massive search went into effect first thing Saturday morning…searchers criss-crossed the town three times, bloodhounds were brought in, the whole nine yards. The dogs couldn’t even pick up a scent. Authorities went door-to-door to see if anyone heard or saw anything. Nothing. On Sunday, a National Guard helicopter and 20 search-and-rescue officials joined in the search, scouring the town and nearby creeks and ponds. Sunday evening, the FBI and local law enforcement started stopping every car that passed through McCleary to see if the drivers were in the area Friday night and had any information on the case. Nothing. Lindsey’s mom, Melissa Baum, says that although Lindsey is upset about her recent divorce, she doesn’t have money to run away, and has never tried to run away before. “She wouldn’t have run away,” Melissa said. “If she had been hiding she would have come out by now. She can’t hide that long, she loves to talk.” It has been reported that Lindsey had an argument with her brother that Friday evening, but nothing more than the usual sibling spat. Her father, who lives in Tennessee, has been contacted and cleared. As much as I had hoped that she was throwing a fit and hiding out at a friend’s house, after 3 days, this isn’t looking very good.

“Everybody knows everybody’s business and we’d have expected that if she was still in town. Somebody would have notified us and we haven’t had that, unfortunately,” says Dave Pimentel, Deputy Chief of the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office. Investigators have interviewed registered and transient sex offenders in the area. They have taken Lindsey’s computer into evidence and are checking out her Myspace accounts. They are going over her cell phone activity. Still, no leads. Police have, however, ruled out all family members as suspects.

Lindsey was last seen wearing a gray or blue hooded pullover sweatshirt, with blue jeans and black shoes. She has brown eyes, brown hair, and stands about 4-feet-9-inches and weighs about 80 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call the Grays Harbor 911 Center at (800) 281-6944 or the McCleary Police Department at (360) 495-3107. Since her disappearance does not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert, one has not been issued.

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