Family of missing pregnant woman reveals suspicions about disappearance
An Indiana woman was nine months pregnant when she disappeared over three months ago, and her family has suspicions about her last whereabouts.
Mother of three Emma Baum, 25, went missing Oct. 10 in Gary, Indiana, and she was about to give birth to her fourth child.
Baum was last seen being dropped off at her boyfriend's house, her sister Hailey Baum-Waddell told Fox News Digital.
"Looking for Emma has been a very struggling thing for everybody, mentally and physically and emotionally … but we're not going to stop looking for her," Baum-Waddell said. "I think if people keep going on and chanting that something needs to be done and chanting her name … just get the word out because a lot of people know, but not everybody knows."
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Authorities received a missing persons report for Baum from her family Oct. 28, Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady told Fox News Digital.
"A couple of days went by. … We all started, like, messaging each other, ‘Hey, have you heard from Emma? Anybody seen her? Can you message one of her friends to get a hold of her boyfriend?’ And it was kind of just a ring around with everybody and everyone's just trying to figure it out," Baum-Waddell said.
"Then we're like, ‘OK, well, this is not normal.’ … That's when my mom really started to panic," she added. "Then my mom ended up going to the police station."
Officers with the Gary Police Department have used K-9s on several searches in the area, and the Lake County Sheriff's Department has assisted in a few of the searches, Hamady said.
"We have searched a house, apartment, recreational vehicles and one other property," he added.
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In addition to the police investigation, Baum-Waddell said she and other relatives of Baum have been organizing a widespread search after a social media post of hers drew hundreds of willing participants.
"There's been a lot of people who have offered to come out and look for her," she said. "We've talked it over with other search groups. I made a post online just saying, you know, ‘Hands of how many people would be willing to come out,’ and I posted it in multiple groups."
Baum lived in Portage, Indiana, but was visiting her boyfriend in Gary when she was last seen.
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Baum-Waddell said her sister didn't have a working phone when she disappeared and that although her sister may have "gone off and done her own thing" for several days at a time, she would never disappear for such a long period of time.
"That day, she was supposed to go with her boyfriend … to the phone store and get it activated, and she never got the phone activated," she said. "She's been completely silent on everything, and now that's not like her."
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Baum-Waddell also mentioned her sister's devotion as a mother and the close relationship she has with her oldest son.
"They have a freaking crazy, unbreakable bond," she shared. "For her not to be here to see him on Christmas or Thanksgiving or … New Year's. It's unreal. There's no way she would do that to him."
Baum-Waddell believes her sister's boyfriend is "hiding something," she told Fox News Digital, and Baum's mother believes the boyfriend had something to do with her disappearance, WGN9 reported.
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"We have not charged anyone with the disappearance of Emma Baum, and she has not been located yet," Hamady said. "We continue to search and interview individuals that are or maybe associated with this case."
Baum's boyfriend, who was originally in custody in an unrelated case, was released from Lake County Jail and is awaiting his court date for the separate charges, Hamady added.
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Baum is approximately 5 feet, 3 inches tall, weighs around 136 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. She has several scars and tattoos, and she often wears colorful wigs.
"Emma gave everybody her all, gave them all the love that she could," Baum-Waddell emotionally said about her sister. "She has these big brown eyes, and she always just wanted to make everybody, you know, laugh or feel good about themselves or have them feel included.
"It's very difficult because now it's not just her that's missing. It's her baby. And you don't want to think, you know, the worst because who would want to, you know, hurt a girl and her baby?" she added. "We're just hoping to find her safe."
Anyone with information on Baum's disappearance is asked to contact the Gary Police Department at (219) 881-1209.