He is getting ready to deploy to Iraq as he anxiously awaits word on his 10-year-old daughter, who disappeared more than a week ago while walking home from her friend's house.

Baum, who lives in Tennessee, arrived in McCleary over the weekend with his heart in a knot. The father said he had to get clearance from his military superiors before making the trip.

On Monday the troubled father pleaded for his daughter's safe return.

"Why I'm here today is to appeal to everybody out there watching to please bring my daughter home," Baum said on Monday. "I'm fixin' to deploy to Iraq and tomorrow is her birthday. I would love nothing more than to see my daughter before I have to go."

Baum hadn't seen his daughter, Lindsey Baum, in a year. He and her mother divorced three years ago. He stayed in Tennessee and his ex-wife moved to Washington with their daughter.

Investigators do not suspect Scott Baum in the case.

"No, the only possibility that we were considering at any time was perhaps that Lindsey, missing her father, had tried to go to him in Tennessee," said Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott.

The missing girl set out to walk the ten blocks to her home from a friend's house, which is roughly a 10-minute walk, on the night of June 26. But something happened in that short distance, and she never arrived home.

Witnesses reported having seen the girl that night as she walked home along Maple Street.

On Monday nearly 60 searchers - the largest number of ground searchers to date - searched a nearby off-road vehicle park, as well as the hills beyond them.

And the search hasn't been easy. The Capitol Forest is 80,000 acres of steep hillsides, miles of rugged terrain and countless roadways.

A change in the weather on Monday gave the search teams a second wind. The cooler temperatures also helped the dog teams pick up scents.

As the dozens of searchers spread out, Lindsey Baum's family sat and waited, anxious for any word.

"So please, if you know anything, contact the hotlines.Contact any 911 centers," said Scott Baum. "But please bring me my daughter home before I have to leave."