The family of a missing Indiana woman named Emma Baum is speaking out as the search to locate her intensifies. Baum went missing on October 10, 2024, having been nine months pregnant at the time.
Emma Baum, a 25-year-old mother of three, was visiting her boyfriend, Antwon Butler, 29, in Gary, just 10 miles from her residence in Portage. At the time, she didn't have a working phone, and her family claims she was supposed to go with Butler, the father of her unborn child, "to the phone store and get it activated."
She was last seen at his home, Baum's sister Hailey Baum-Waddell told Fox News Digital. Speaking with the outlet, she said of her sister:
"Emma gave everybody her all, gave them all the love that she could. 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."
She went on, noting that,
"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.”
Here's everything we know about the disappearance of Emma Baum, a 25-year-old pregnant mum of three
Emma Baum's 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." She addded.
Emma Baum's family filed for a missing persons report on October 28, Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady told Fox News Digital. WGN9 has reported that at the time of her disappearance, she was one centimeter dilated.
"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 went on.
"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."
Baum's mother, Jamie Baum, is also accusing Butler of having done something to her daughter, as reported by The Daily Mail. However, he has yet to be named a suspect in the inexplicable disappearance, and the Gary Police have yet to charge him with the same.
"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."
Fox News Digital has reported that the officials have deployed K-9s multiple times on their raids of the area, while the Lake County Sheriff's Department has also lent a hand in the search and recovery efforts.
"We have searched a house, apartment, recreational vehicles and one other property," Hamady added.
Emma Baum is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs about 136 pounds. While she is known to experiment with her hair and occasionally wears wigs, she is naturally brunette. As for Butler, he was taken into custody for an unrelated case not long after Baum went missing, though he was later released from Lake County Jail. At the time of writing, he awaits a court date for trial.
Baum-Waddell also revealed that in addition to the ongoing investigations, the family's relatives have come forward to help search for the missing woman after a social media post of hers went viral.
“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.”
Reflecting on her sister's devotion to her kids and her oldest son, she said:
“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.”
Hamady has revealed that authorities have looked into and questioned several individuals in connection with the case, adding that the search and recovery efforts are well ongoing. At the time of writing, no other updates are available about the disappearance of Emma Baum.
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