HICKORY, N.C. — Investigators cast doubt yesterday on accounts given by the father and stepmother of a missing 10-year-old whose battles with bone cancer left her with a prosthetic leg and hearing aids in both ears.
A search warrant revealed that police dogs had detected the scent of human remains on cars belonging to the couple. Hours earlier, the police chief said investigators were having trouble finding anyone outside the household who had seen Zahra Clare Baker in the last few weeks.
The warrant filed in a Hickory court did not indicate that police found any remains in their search Sunday. It said the dogs detected the scent on a sedan and sport utility vehicle.
The couple had told police they discovered the girl was missing on Saturday and that one of them had seen her sleeping in her room hours earlier.
Yet Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said investigators were having difficulty with that account. He said investigators could not find anyone else who had seen the homeschooled girl in the last few weeks.
Zahra’s father, Adam Baker, said during an earlier TV interview that it was possible his wife could be involved in the disappearance, which was reported hours after a fire in the home’s backyard.
Elisa Baker was arrested Sunday on about a dozen charges unrelated to the girl’s disappearance.
Adkins said a ransom note and other evidence were found at the house but wouldn’t elaborate. A reporter saw what appeared to be remnants of clothes among burned branches from the fire at the scene.
Adkins said the father was cooperating with police, but Elisa Baker wasn’t.
Zahra was described by family friends as slow to open up to new people, but constantly smiled in spite of her health problems. The stepmother could be short-tempered toward her, two former neighbors said, but the woman also fought tears when a charity fitted the girl for hearing aids a few months ago.
“I just hope I can get my daughter back. I miss her so much,’’ Zahra’s father told ABC’s “Good Morning America’’ as he choked up. He was interviewed alongside Adkins.
The girl’s stepmother told her husband she last saw Zahra sleeping in her bed at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, about 2 1/2 hours before the fire was reported. Adam Baker said he was panicked after the fire, but didn’t immediately check on his daughter.
Investigators have collected surveillance video from businesses near the family’s home and used the dogs to search the neighborhood. The police chief said he wouldn’t rule out any suspects, including Adam Baker.
Adam Baker was asked if he thought his wife was involved and said, “I wouldn’t like to think so. On what I’ve heard so far, it could be possible.’’
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