The family of a pregnant mum-of-four who vanished after being dropped off at her boyfriend’s house has shared their suspicions about her last whereabouts.
Emma Baum, 25, disappeared after her last sighting being dropped off at her boyfriend’s home in Gary, Indiana, on October 10. The mum was nine months pregnant ready to give birth to her fourth child.
Her sister Hailey Baum-Waddell said the family had been struggling following her disappearance. She added the family would not stop looking for Emma, who was visiting from Portage. She said: “I think if people keep going on a 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.”
She went on to share with Fox News Digital that Emma did not have a working phone and that her sister regularly went “off and done her own thing” for days at a time. Despite this, she believes her sister would not take off for such a long time and that she had a strong bond with her oldest son.
“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 everything, and now that’s not like her.”
Emma’s boyfriend, who had been in custody for an unrelated case, was released from Lake County Jail and is now awaiting a court date for the separate charges. Emma is described as being 5ft 3ins tall, has brown hair and eyes as well as having several tattoos. She is also known to wear different hair pieces and wigs. No one has been charged with Emma’s disappearance.
Gary Police commander Jack Hamady told the network that authorities received a missing persons report for Emma 18 days after she vanished on October 28. “A couple of days went by,” Hailey added. “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.”
Gary police officers have used dog units to search areas close to where Emma was last seen. Hamady told the network: “We have searched a house, apartment, recreational vehicles and one other property.” The Mirror has contacted the Gary Police Department for comment.
A GoFundMe campaign was set up on January 17 to support Emma’s mother Jamie who is caring for her grandchild Kamden. The campaign said she is struggling to pay rent while also searching for Emma and her unborn child.
The GoFundMe claims Jamie was handed a 10-day eviction letter from landlords requesting late fees and a rent backpay of $2,000 (£1,642). Since the campaign went live, it has managed to raise $655 (£537) out of a $1,200 (£985) target.
“As a self-sufficient individual, Jamie is experiencing an immense stress and hardship while trying to locate her missing daughter searching daily in Gary Indiana in Northwest Indiana regions,” the campaign added. To view the GoFundMe campaign, click here.
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