LINDSEY BAUM: 10-year-old abducted and murdered in McCleary, WA - June 2009 / Remains found 2017 (12 Viewers)

After a decade, knowing didn’t bring relief

Melissa Baum wears a silver necklace holding a small silver pendant with a ruby. Contained within the pendant are half the remains of her daughter, Lindsey.

It’s been 10 years since Lindsey disappeared during a 10-minute walk to her home in McCleary on a hot summer evening June 26, 2009. It’s been a little more than a year since Melissa Baum was told her daughter’s partial remains had been found hundreds of miles away in the middle of the state and she knew for sure her daughter had been murdered.

During the decade that followed her daughter’s disappearance, Melissa has seen her daughter’s friends grow up, graduate from high school, go to college, marry, have children of their own. Melissa has only the memories of the talkative, intelligent, strong-willed girl, frozen in time at the age of 10.

“I’m finally to a point where I’m able to reminisce about her,” said Baum. “I have lots of memories that I’m grateful for.” For example, “She had so much energy. She talked constantly, a mile a minute.”


Closure?

Melissa got a call in early May 2018 from Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott. He needed to see her, and right away.

“It felt a little odd, he sounded urgent, I didn’t understand,” she said, saying it normally took months to set up a meeting with investigators, and it had been more than eight years without much news to be shared.

The next day Scott and an FBI victim’s advocate showed up at her door.

“I knew there was more to it,” said Melissa, when she saw the raw emotion on Scott’s face. DNA testing from the FBI confirmed a portion of Lindsey’s remains had been found more than six months earlier in Eastern Washington.

“Over the years, when I heard of children’s remains being recovered, I remember feeling twinges of jealousy,” said Melissa. “I felt knowing would bring some relief. It’s been the exact opposite.” Anger, rage and frustration were the result for her.

Days later, at a press conference in McCleary, she spoke to the press and the community about the discovery of her daughter’s remains. She admits it is still difficult for her to visit the town; she moved some time after Lindsey’s disappearance but returned, not to McCleary, but to the area. She continues to grant interviews like this one and make television appearances. As difficult as they are for her, she knows there’s always a chance the right person will see them.

“It’s not over because she’s been found, not even close,” said Baum.

After a decade, knowing didn’t bring relief - The Daily World

Melissa Baum wears a silver necklace holding a small silver pendant with a ruby. Contained within the pendant are half the remains of her daughter, Lindsey.

www.thedailyworld.com

Who killed LINDSEY BAUM and why haven't they been brought to justice? There is now a $40,000 reward for info! McCleary, #WASHINGTON June 26, 2009

On June 26, 2009, 10 year old Lindsey Baum was walking home from her friend’s house around 9:15 pm. She never made it home. Her remains were found 8 years later, miles from where she went missing!

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[Mel70]

I look strongly at the local business owner. IIRC, he moved out of the area. He has ties to where Lindsey‘s remain was found.

Oh. I hadn't read that. I definitely think it was someone known to her. It was stated as if they could only speculate he had his timeline wrong. But, with what you just said, that's extremely suspicious. Remains found 200 miles away. Then moving away.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

1. Tim Hartman
Owned jewelry/pawn shop in McCleary.
Said he was not in town at the time Lindsey disappeared. However, surveillance showed that he was. "Coincidentally", this surveillance video is from a gas station / convenience store that Lindsey would have walked by. In the time frame that she would have been in the area too.

"He says he showed investigators a "certificate" showing that he had been in a class in Belfair until 9 p.m. on June 26 and couldn't have made it to McCleary by 9:15 p.m. But he says FBI investigators then determined that the class actually had ended at 8:15 p.m." He was on camera at 9:15 pm. He later "made an ambulance run". Also, around 1 am, he "ran into Lindsey's mom" and drove her around to look.

2. Paul Bieker
Convicted of raping a 17-year-old in McCleary six years before Lindsey disappeared.
There was some pretty interesting information in a podcast about search dogs possibly tracking Lindsey's scent in the direction of property that he was associated with. But I can't remember the details, nor find the podcast episode.

3. Dale Golder
Gave inconsistent statements. At least one search warrant was executed on his property.
He had apparently been texting his girlfriend (who lives in Ellensburg near where the remains were found) but stopped right at the time she disappeared. He may have also been following Lindsey's mom around in his car that night. He was confirmed to have traveled to Ellensburg on 7/16, 2-3 weeks after her disappearance. And finally, he was a "suspect" in the attempted rape of a 12-year-old when he was 14.

4. Emery Brothers
Three brothers living in Mason County (about 17 miles from McCleary) were arrested on child pornography charges.

 

[Mel70]

1. Tim Hartman
Owned jewelry/pawn shop in McCleary.
Said he was not in town at the time Lindsey disappeared. However, surveillance showed that he was. "Coincidentally", this surveillance video is from a gas station / convenience store that Lindsey would have walked by. In the time frame that she would have been in the area too.

"He says he showed investigators a "certificate" showing that he had been in a class in Belfair until 9 p.m. on June 26 and couldn't have made it to McCleary by 9:15 p.m. But he says FBI investigators then determined that the class actually had ended at 8:15 p.m." He was on camera at 9:15 pm. He later "made an ambulance run". Also, around 1 am, he "ran into Lindsey's mom" and drove her around to look.

2. Paul Bieker
Convicted of raping a 17-year-old in McCleary six years before Lindsey disappeared.
There was some pretty interesting information in a podcast about search dogs possibly tracking Lindsey's scent in the direction of property that he was associated with. But I can't remember the details, nor find the podcast episode.

3. Dale Golder
Gave inconsistent statements. At least one search warrant was executed on his property.
He had apparently been texting his girlfriend (who lives in Ellensburg near where the remains were found) but stopped right at the time she disappeared. He may have also been following Lindsey's mom around in his car that night. He was confirmed to have traveled to Ellensburg on 7/16, 2-3 weeks after her disappearance. And finally, he was a "suspect" in the attempted rape of a 12-year-old when he was 14.

4. Emery Brothers
Three brothers living in Mason County (about 17 miles from McCleary) were arrested on child pornography charges.

Yes, ma'am. That's the 3. I hadn't heard of Golder. The elderly brothers I find the least likely. But they are the most disturbing. Hartman driving her mom around. Killers often interject themselves into searches and investigations.

 

[Kimster]

1. Tim Hartman
Owned jewelry/pawn shop in McCleary.
Said he was not in town at the time Lindsey disappeared. However, surveillance showed that he was. "Coincidentally", this surveillance video is from a gas station / convenience store that Lindsey would have walked by. In the time frame that she would have been in the area too.

"He says he showed investigators a "certificate" showing that he had been in a class in Belfair until 9 p.m. on June 26 and couldn't have made it to McCleary by 9:15 p.m. But he says FBI investigators then determined that the class actually had ended at 8:15 p.m." He was on camera at 9:15 pm. He later "made an ambulance run". Also, around 1 am, he "ran into Lindsey's mom" and drove her around to look.

2. Paul Bieker
Convicted of raping a 17-year-old in McCleary six years before Lindsey disappeared.
There was some pretty interesting information in a podcast about search dogs possibly tracking Lindsey's scent in the direction of property that he was associated with. But I can't remember the details, nor find the podcast episode.

3. Dale Golder
Gave inconsistent statements. At least one search warrant was executed on his property.
He had apparently been texting his girlfriend (who lives in Ellensburg near where the remains were found) but stopped right at the time she disappeared. He may have also been following Lindsey's mom around in his car that night. He was confirmed to have traveled to Ellensburg on 7/16, 2-3 weeks after her disappearance. And finally, he was a "suspect" in the attempted rape of a 12-year-old when he was 14.

4. Emery Brothers
Three brothers living in Mason County (about 17 miles from McCleary) were arrested on child pornography charges.

Didn't Harman have ties to the area where Lindsey's remain was found, too?

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Didn't Harman have ties to the area where Lindsey's remain was found, too?

I can't remember! I thought so.

 

[Mel70]

I can't remember! I thought so.

I'm searching. I saw only a piece of her skull found in a remote area by hunters in Washington. This is just... I thought he had ties too. But, then why wasn't he treated more of a suspect?. Like I said before. It seems suspicious he interjected himself in looking for her with her mother. Her going missing timeline is 15 minutes. She was seen along her walk home. Where are the rest of her remains?. It's so disturbing.

 

[Mel70]

Well, I couldn't find anything on his tie to where she was found. The exact location wasn't disclosed. This article states the little info on him there is.

https://discover.hubpages.com/politics/Found-in-the-woods-The-unsolved-murder-of-10-year-old-Lindsey-Baum

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

I have been to Ellensburg several times. When they say "Ellensburg", she wasn't really found around Ellensburg, that's just the nearest "city". She was found about an hour up the mountain to the west. You're right that Ellensburg itself isn't super wooded, and it's pretty flat. BUT, there are mountains in the area. The Manastash Ridge area is very popular for hiking, hunting, camping, etc. Cars going up there wouldn't be uncommon at all, on any day. (Lindsey disappeared on a Friday, but she wasn't necessarily taken there on a Friday. They were speculating based on the journal entry found that it could have been the following Monday.)

View attachment 14012 View attachment 14011View attachment 14014 View attachment 14015

This is where she was found.

 

[Mel70]

This is where she was found.

Yes. They just described the area not exact location. With that remote location they were not counting on her being found.

 

[Mel70]

Thanks @SheWhoMustNotBeNamed. An article stated an exact location was not provided. But, stated how the terrain was. What do I know on no sleep. Geez.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Thanks @SheWhoMustNotBeNamed. An article stated an exact location was not provided. But, stated how the terrain was. What do I know on no sleep. Geez.

Nah, I don't think an exact address was ever provided. Just approximate. Found one that said "Riders Camp" at one point so that's what I used.

 

[Mel70]

Nah, I don't think an exact address was ever provided. Just approximate. Found one that said "Riders Camp" at one point so that's what I used.

Rhank ypu just the same. Also. I still don’t know what is going on. It's getting worse.

 

[Regina]

If the info from that podcast on the previous page is accurate as to what the girlfriend said was her boyfriend's comment, that's sketchy as heck, but if she also lived in relative proximity of the discovery site, then considered together with his lie about his alibi, that's highly incriminating.
And if the info is accurate that he was unaccounted for in the days following Lindsey's disappearance, then to me, he's somewhere in between a strong POI and a suspect.

 

[Kimster]

https://www.koin.com/news/crime/true-crime-tuesday-the-search-continues-for-lindsey-baums-killer/

True Crime Tuesday: The search continues for Lindsey Baum’s killer​

10-year-old Lindsey Baum went missing in McCleary, Washington, in 2009.

Her remains were found about eight years after her disappearance, but police are still searching for her killer.

The Murder In The Rain podcast takes a look at where the search stands now.

Is this the podcast you’re referring to?

 

[Regina]

Is this the podcast you’re referring to?

It was this one below.

This is Murder in the Rain podcast about Lindsay, from 2020.

Episode 34: Five Decades of Secrets

Ten year old Lindsey Baum disappeared on a summer evening while walking home from her friend’s house in 2009. For nearly a decade her family and law enforcement searched for answers, chased every lead, and dissected the whereabouts of forty different suspects. In 2017 a horrific discovery inside...

www.murderintherain.com

 

[Regina]

Needless to say, accurate info re a timeline is often crucial and I think it's especially so in this case.
So, if it's a fact that Tim Hartman is on camera at 9:15pm, then he's there before Lindsey even left her own home at 9:17pm* and when she passed the gas station, she wasn't alone but with several other children.

*Lindsey's mother said that when Lindsey left their own home, she looked at her computer and the time was 9:17pm.

 

[Kimster]

Needless to say, accurate info re a timeline is often crucial and I think it's especially so in this case.
So, if it's a fact that Tim Hartman is on camera at 9:15pm, then he's there before Lindsey even left her own home at 9:17pm* and when she passed the gas station, she wasn't alone but with several other children.

*Lindsey's mother said that when Lindsey left their own home, she looked at her computer and the time was 9:17pm.

Actually, that’s when Lindsey left her friends home.

Timeline in Lindsey Baum's disappearance and investigation | FOX 13 Seattle

www.fox13seattle.com

Regardless, it still fits into the Hartman timeline.

 

[Regina]

Actually, that’s when Lindsey left her friends home.

Timeline in Lindsey Baum's disappearance and investigation | FOX 13 Seattle

www.fox13seattle.com

Regardless, it still fits into the Hartman timeline.

From what I've ascertained directly from her mother, Lindsey left the friend's home at about 9:25 / 9:30 and so me, Hartman doesn't fit into the timeline.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Needless to say, accurate info re a timeline is often crucial and I think it's especially so in this case.
So, if it's a fact that Tim Hartman is on camera at 9:15pm, then he's there before Lindsey even left her own home at 9:17pm* and when she passed the gas station, she wasn't alone but with several other children.

*Lindsey's mother said that when Lindsey left their own home, she looked at her computer and the time was 9:17pm.

Do you have a link? Because that's just...not accurate.
She left her own home around 8:30-8:45.
She was expected to RETURN home around 9:30. (After leaving her friend's house at 9:15.)

From the second post of the thread.

Later that evening she, her then 12-year-old brother Josh and a friend left Lindsey’s home on Mommsen Street to see about a sleepover at the friend’s house. Josh peeled back toward his home after a few blocks and the two girls continued to the friend’s house. The sleepover didn’t work out and Lindsey, now on her own, started the 10-minute walk home around 9:15 p.m.

Timeline in Lindsey Baum's disappearance and investigation

www.fox13seattle.com

June 26, 2009 (The day of Baum's disappearance) - Lindsey Baum spent the hot summer day at her friend’s house, swimming in a pool.

She and her brother returned home briefly and then went to another friend’s house on Maple Street. Lindsey and her brother got in a fight - reportedly over a bike - and her brother returned home.

Lindsey asked if she could stay the night at the friend’s house, but the friend’s mom said no. Lindsey left around 9: 15 p.m. to return home. It was about a 10 minute walk back to her house (5 blocks). She was spotted on the streets by a neighbor between 5th and 6th Streets. It was the last time she was seen.

Around 10 p.m., Melissa Baum called the friend’s mom, who told her Lindsey had left an hour ago. Lindsey’s mom called her cell phone, but it was left at the home on a charger. At 10:45 p.m., Melissa called police.

Multi-agency search for missing McCleary girl

|

www.king5.com

Ten-year-old Lindsey Baum was last seen 9:15 p.m. Friday on Maple Street when she left her friend's house to walk home.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Also, even if the timeline is completely off, it doesn't eliminate him.
He was still in town (when he said he wasn't). Her route still took her right by his store.