FBI conducts new search at Lindsey Baum home

MCCLEARY, Wash. - Nine months after 10-year-old Lindsey Baum vanished without a trace, FBI agents returned to the family home Friday to conduct a new search.

There is no new evidence or new tips that brought the FBI to the home where Lindsey was living before her nationally publicized disappearance last June.

Rather, investigators want to take a last chance to gather material from the home before Lindsey's mother, Melissa Baum, moves out of McCleary for good.

Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott said Lindsey's room has been preserved untouched in the home since the evening of June 26, when she vanished while walking home from a friend's home.

Now that Lindsey's mother is moving in with relatives in Thurston County, investigators want to take this last opportunity to gather fibers, hair samples and other evidence from the home.

"An outside review of the investigation into the disappearance suggested another review of the home be made by CSI specialists, and the FBI team was available today," Undersheriff Scott told KOMO News.

He said the home has been searched at least three times before. This time, forensics experts will be taking samples of carpet, furniture, hair strands, materials in the family car and anything else that might help them if that type of evidence is ever needed.

Lindsey Baum

"In the sad eventuality that her remains were found, detectives would have controlled samples to eliminate any trace evidence which might have come from the home rather than from any other source," Scott said.

Scott said there are no suspects at this time, and nothing should be read into Friday's search other than that the landlord may want to recarpet and repaint and make other changes to the house when Lindsey's mother moves.

So this is investigators' last chance to conduct a search before the home is refurbished.

The undersheriff said that Melissa Baum quit her job after her daughter disappeared to take part in the searches, which continued for several months, and now the mother needs to move because of strained finances.

A $20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the discovery of Lindsey Baum.

Lindsey was 10 years old when she vanished; now she'd be 11, and her family is holding out hope that someone will come forward with information.

Investigators have received hundreds of tips, but no substantial leads. Volunteer searches have turned up nothing but frustration.

Over the last six months, Lindsey's mother and the police chief appeared on a national TV programs to urge anyone with information to call investigators, and Lindsey was even featured on the cover of People Magazine.