"It is with great regret I stand before you today," Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins told reporters at a 4 p.m. news conference. "I have been dreading this moment from early on in this investigation. ... We have recovered enough physical evidence to believe we have found Zahra."
Adkins said DNA taken from Zahra's home matched DNA retrieved from a bone that was found in Caldwell County last week. The bone was found near Christie Road, the same area where the girl's prosthetic leg was found late last month.
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The Zahra Clare Baker Case
Police said Friday they have found the remains of 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker. The Australian-born girl was reported missing from her home in Hickory, N.C., on Oct. 9. Zahra had lost a leg to bone cancer and was hearing-impaired. Her prosthetic leg was found in late October.
The girl's father, Adam Baker, told police he last saw Zahra sleeping in her bed at about 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 9. He said he and his wife slept late that Saturday morning and did not notice Zahra was missing until about 2 p.m. Police believe the girl may have disappeared before then.
Elisa Baker, the girl's stepmother, has been indicted on a felony charge of obstruction of justice. Last month she was charged with the same offense, after she allegedly admitted writing a fake ransom note to confuse authorities.
No one has been charged in Zahra's disappearance, and both Adam and Elisa Baker have denied any involvement.
"The samples from the home were taken from personal items believed to belong to Zahra," Adkins said. "A known DNA profile of Zahra will be created from cheek swabs from her biological mother and father. The swabs will be sent to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation lab to create that profile."
Adkins also confirmed that human skeletal remains, believed to belong to a child, were found Wednesday. Positive identification on the remains is pending, Adkins said.
"[The remains] are consistent with a child [but] until [testing] is complete, we cannot officially confirm they are Zahra's," Adkins said. "The timetable for those results are not available at this time."
Adkins said the case is still developing and that investigators are continuing to gather facts. He declined to release further information in the case.
"We must be cautious in releasing further information, so it will not jeopardize future court proceedings," Adkins said. "The release of information from this point on will be very limited."
Adkins added, "Investigators, agents, officers and staff that work on this case are devastated they were not able to find Zahra alive and bring her home safely. ... Our community mourns, our state mourns, our nation morns and the world morns, as we go forward."
Earlier today, Zahra's biological mother, Emily Dietrich, arrived in the area after flying in from Australia, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Zahra's father, Adam Baker, told police he last saw his daughter sleeping in her bed at about 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 9. He said he and his wife slept in that Saturday morning and did not notice that Zahra, who was hearing-impaired and had lost a leg to bone cancer, was missing until about 2 p.m.
During the investigation, specially trained dogs detected the scent of human remains on property belonging to Baker and Zahra's stepmother, Elisa Baker. Dogs also detected similar scents during a recent search of property that reportedly belongs to a tree services company that recently employed Zahra's father for about six months.
On Oct. 25, authorities arrested Adam Baker on charges unrelated to his daughter's disappearance. He faces one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of failure to return rental property, two counts of communicating threats and five counts of writing worthless checks.
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Adam Baker posted $7,000 bond and was released from the Catawba County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 18.On Nov. 1, a Catawaba County grand jury indicted Elisa Baker on a felony charge of obstruction of justice. Authorities say she was charged last month after she admitted writing a fake ransom note to confuse authorities.
Elisa Baker was arrested previously on charges unrelated to the child's disappearance, including writing fraudulent checks, larceny and failure to appear. She is being held on a $92,200 bond.
No one has been charged in connection with Zahra's disappearance, and both Adam and Elisa Baker have denied any involvement.