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Adam Baker, Zahra's father, calls 911 and reports his daughter is missing. Earlier that day Elisa Baker, Zahra's stepmother, had called and reported a fire in their back yard. The Bakers told firefighters and police that they had found a ransom note along with the fire, mistakingly letf at their home rather than the home of Adam's boss. The search for Zahra begins in Hickory.
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Baker is charged with obstruction of justice after admitting that the ransom not found on October 9th was fake. Hickory police then cancel the active Amber alert and investigate the disappearance as a homicide. Police also learn that no one outside the family had seen Zahra in over a month.
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Adam Baker is arrested on five counts of worthless checks and five counts f failure to appear in court. Authorities also extend the investigation to Caldweall County, where the Baker family had lived previously. Elisa Baker remains in jail under charges of obstruction of justice.
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Police find a prosthetic leg consistent with the one Zahra had during a search in Caldwell County. Police use a serial number to confirm that the leg is Zahra's.
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Police find a bone near the site where the prothestic leg was previously found.
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In a video released by an Australian news organization Emily Dietrich, Zahra's biological mother, says she believes Zahra is dead.
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Authorities find human remains while searching in Caldwell County.
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Hickory Police Cheif Tom Adkins announces that medical examiners have confirmed that the remains found two days earlier are those of Zahra Baker. "Investigators, agents, and officers who worked on this case are devastated that they could not find Zahra alive and bring her home safely," Adkins said.
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In a motion to lower her bond of $65,000, police say that Elisa Baker gave grisly details about Zahra's death. The motion argued that Baker's bond should be lowered due to her cooperation in the investigation of her stepdaughter's death.
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A public service was held at Drum Memorial home in Hickory where people could sign a guest book and see photos of happier times in Zahra's life. The funeral home decides to host another service so that more people in the community can pay yheir condolences.
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After an autopsy ruels out the possibility that Zahra died of natural causes, Elisa Baker is charged with the murder of her stepdaughter. The grand jury issued a second-degree murder indictment agains Baker. Catawba and Caldwell county officials alos acknowledge that they had investigated four complaints that Zahra was being mistreated.
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The exact cause of death is still uncertain in the Zahra Baker case. Evidence from the entire investigation convinced auhtorities and doctors that Zahra's death should be considered a homicide.
