MCCLEARY, Wash. — A recent search in connection to Lindsey Baum’s case is renewing hope for her family and investigators to find her killer.
“She wanted to be a writer and illustrator," said Melissa Baum, Lindsey's mother. "She wanted to be a veterinarian. She loved animals. Those were her passions at 10 years old."
The 10-year-old disappeared while walking home from a friend's house on June 26, 2009, just shy of her 11th birthday.
“She’d turn 25 on July 7th. That’s a long time for no answers,” Baum said.
“This case is very much active," said Rose Winquist, a private investigator working on the case. "In fact, it's the most active it's ever been and everyone is so happy about that."
Winquist has been working the case for 8 years and upped her involvement after Lindsey’s partial remains were found in 2017 in Ellensburg, 300 miles from McCleary.
“I think we are inching forward in a way that has never happened before,” Winquist said.
Three weeks ago, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s office plus volunteers and several agencies including the FBI and The Attorney General's HITS Investigators searched a 10-acre piece of land in Mason County.
The Grays Harbor County Sheriff said the department circled back to a tip it received in that area shortly after Lindsey’s disappearance. Up to 25 items were recovered and are being looked at as possible evidence.
“I think because of the number of agencies involved, in this case now, that we’re going to see some really significant changes in the next year and have some real solid information come out,” said Winquist.
A newly elected sheriff and multi-agency task force are credited for reinvigorating Lindsey’s case.
“For the first time in a long time I have hope and that helps because I lost it for a long time," Baum said. "Probably for the past five years, I gave up hope that I would find answers."
While the search brings a new sense of hope, it simultaneously brings difficulty.
“Every time something like this comes up, no matter how good you’re doing it throws you right back to day one,” said Baum.
There’s a $41,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
“Somebody knows exactly what happened and the truth is going to come out," Baum said. "I'm never giving up. I'm never ever going to just stop."
Baum said finding Lindsey’s killer not only will bring justice for her daughter but hopefully save others.
“Someone who can do something like this will not stop and they need to be caught," Baum said. "How many little girls have been taken by the same hands that took Lindsey in the last 14 years?"