Post by SeabiscuitChick on Oct 2, 2008 14:05:11 GMT -5
Travis Baker's Parents Desperate for Leads in Son's Disappearance
TAYLORSVILLE, NC. (Crime Library) — Eighteen months ago, 19-year-old Travis Baker vanished without a trace. Despite multiple searches on both land and water, and after endless hours of investigation, police are still no closer to solving his disappearance. Now, more so than ever, Travis's family is desperate to know what happened to their son.
"Not knowing is the hardest part," Travis's father, Dwayne Baker, told Crime Library yesterday afternoon. "Someone out there knows what happened. I just wish they'd speak up and end this nightmare."
According to Dwayne, Travis was last heard from on April 14,2007. That morning, Travis called his dad and told him that heavy winds had damaged an outbuilding on their property.
"I told him not to worry about it and that we would fix it later," Dwayne said. "That was the last time I spoke with him."
According to Travis's mom, Patricia Baker, Travis spent the rest of the morning visiting a friend in Catawba. While there, he called his fiancée at 11:09 a.m. During the conversation, he told her he was preparing to leave to visit another friend. Before hanging up, Travis told his fiancée he would meet her for lunch.
At 11:27 a.m., Travis sent a text message to his fiancée and told her he had just made it to his other friend's house and was sitting in the driveway. Approximately 20 minutes later, his fiancée called his cell phone but did not get an answer. She tried again at 2:00, and her call went straight to voicemail — Travis's phone had been turned off.[/color]
Later that day, when Travis failed to show up for his job at M.D.I., a major food distribution company, his family called the Catawba County Sheriff's Office. Since that day, both Travis and his 1998 candy-apple-red Chevrolet Camaro have been missing.
Police questioned both of Travis's friends, neither of whom has been publicly identified, and both claimed to have no knowledge of his whereabouts from the time he left their houses. Suspecting foul play, police gave at least one of the men a polygraph test, which he allegedly failed. Since that time, he has retained a lawyer.
"I don't know if he has anything to do with it," Patricia told Crime Library yesterday. "He could be scared, but I think he knows more than he is telling ... I tried, as a parent, to get him to talk, but he would not return my calls. A month later, he called my husband out of the blue to ask if we wanted some trout he had caught with Travis before his disappearance. Dwayne told him to tell the police everything he knew. He said he would and that he was going to call them the next day, but he never did."
In the last eighteen months, investigators have received hundreds of tips, but to date not one of those leads has proved helpful. The investigation has spanned three states and has involved searching six ponds and three lakes. Planes, helicopters, and sonar-equipped boats have not been able to uncover any trace of Travis or his distinctive candy-apple-red car.
"We have no new concrete evidence," Lt. Roy Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff's Department recently said in an interview with Observernewsonline.com, adding, "We don't stop looking. We don't make presumptions [that he's dead]. We have had people that have been missing for 12 to 15 years show up alive."
Travis's family has been actively involved in the investigation since day one. They have posted over 1500 flyers in and around the area, and they have raised a $12,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with Travis's disappearance. They have also taken their search to the Web, devoting a MySpace page to Travis's disappearance.
According to Patricia, Travis has had a birthday since his disappearance, making him 20 now. He is a 2005 graduate of Bunker Hill High School, and he enjoys spending his time hunting and fishing. His dad describes him as a hard worker. It is obvious that he is exceptionally proud of his son. He loves to brag about how Travis was never in trouble and how responsible he was, spending months saving up for his Camero. Patricia said he would often spend his free time primping and working on his car.
Travis is white, 6 feet tall, weighs 160 to 170 pounds, has two flame tattoos on his arms, the name Halley spelled on his chest, and Baker spelled across his back. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white cutoff T-shirt, and white tennis shoes. His two-door, red Chevrolet Camaro's North Carolina license plate number is WRP8627.
Anyone with information should contact the Catawba County Sheriff's Office at 465-8301.
[/b]
This case has bugged me since I heard. I used to live in that part of NC. I have a 19 year old son. Its not just little kids that can vanish and when your kid hits 19 you think you are home free for the crazy stuff. This story just hammers home the point; you never stop worrying, and your kids are NEVER impervious to crime, no matter how old.
TAYLORSVILLE, NC. (Crime Library) — Eighteen months ago, 19-year-old Travis Baker vanished without a trace. Despite multiple searches on both land and water, and after endless hours of investigation, police are still no closer to solving his disappearance. Now, more so than ever, Travis's family is desperate to know what happened to their son.
"Not knowing is the hardest part," Travis's father, Dwayne Baker, told Crime Library yesterday afternoon. "Someone out there knows what happened. I just wish they'd speak up and end this nightmare."
According to Dwayne, Travis was last heard from on April 14,2007. That morning, Travis called his dad and told him that heavy winds had damaged an outbuilding on their property.
"I told him not to worry about it and that we would fix it later," Dwayne said. "That was the last time I spoke with him."
According to Travis's mom, Patricia Baker, Travis spent the rest of the morning visiting a friend in Catawba. While there, he called his fiancée at 11:09 a.m. During the conversation, he told her he was preparing to leave to visit another friend. Before hanging up, Travis told his fiancée he would meet her for lunch.
At 11:27 a.m., Travis sent a text message to his fiancée and told her he had just made it to his other friend's house and was sitting in the driveway. Approximately 20 minutes later, his fiancée called his cell phone but did not get an answer. She tried again at 2:00, and her call went straight to voicemail — Travis's phone had been turned off.[/color]
Later that day, when Travis failed to show up for his job at M.D.I., a major food distribution company, his family called the Catawba County Sheriff's Office. Since that day, both Travis and his 1998 candy-apple-red Chevrolet Camaro have been missing.
Police questioned both of Travis's friends, neither of whom has been publicly identified, and both claimed to have no knowledge of his whereabouts from the time he left their houses. Suspecting foul play, police gave at least one of the men a polygraph test, which he allegedly failed. Since that time, he has retained a lawyer.
"I don't know if he has anything to do with it," Patricia told Crime Library yesterday. "He could be scared, but I think he knows more than he is telling ... I tried, as a parent, to get him to talk, but he would not return my calls. A month later, he called my husband out of the blue to ask if we wanted some trout he had caught with Travis before his disappearance. Dwayne told him to tell the police everything he knew. He said he would and that he was going to call them the next day, but he never did."
In the last eighteen months, investigators have received hundreds of tips, but to date not one of those leads has proved helpful. The investigation has spanned three states and has involved searching six ponds and three lakes. Planes, helicopters, and sonar-equipped boats have not been able to uncover any trace of Travis or his distinctive candy-apple-red car.
"We have no new concrete evidence," Lt. Roy Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff's Department recently said in an interview with Observernewsonline.com, adding, "We don't stop looking. We don't make presumptions [that he's dead]. We have had people that have been missing for 12 to 15 years show up alive."
Travis's family has been actively involved in the investigation since day one. They have posted over 1500 flyers in and around the area, and they have raised a $12,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with Travis's disappearance. They have also taken their search to the Web, devoting a MySpace page to Travis's disappearance.
According to Patricia, Travis has had a birthday since his disappearance, making him 20 now. He is a 2005 graduate of Bunker Hill High School, and he enjoys spending his time hunting and fishing. His dad describes him as a hard worker. It is obvious that he is exceptionally proud of his son. He loves to brag about how Travis was never in trouble and how responsible he was, spending months saving up for his Camero. Patricia said he would often spend his free time primping and working on his car.
Travis is white, 6 feet tall, weighs 160 to 170 pounds, has two flame tattoos on his arms, the name Halley spelled on his chest, and Baker spelled across his back. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white cutoff T-shirt, and white tennis shoes. His two-door, red Chevrolet Camaro's North Carolina license plate number is WRP8627.
Anyone with information should contact the Catawba County Sheriff's Office at 465-8301.
[/b]
This case has bugged me since I heard. I used to live in that part of NC. I have a 19 year old son. Its not just little kids that can vanish and when your kid hits 19 you think you are home free for the crazy stuff. This story just hammers home the point; you never stop worrying, and your kids are NEVER impervious to crime, no matter how old.