REMAINS
FOUND
NEWTON - The remains found near a hay
field in Catawba have been identified as Travis Baker.
During a press conference with Baker's
families and friends present, Chief Deputy Coy Reid, of the Catawba County
Sheriff's Office, announced that the skeletal remains discovered Wednesday
morning were those of the teen who disappeared more than two years ago.
A tip received by the sheriff's
department focused the investigation on John Lee Mitchell Jr., who was
arrested in Orange County, Fla., Wednesday night. Mitchell is to go in
front of a judge Thursday and, if he waives his extradition, may be bought
back to Catawba County Friday.
December 1st, 2007
BY SARAH NEWELL
HICKORY -- Travis Baker has been missing for seven months, but his family maintains strong hope that someone who knows something about his disappearance will come forward.
As hunters enter the woods this season, Baker’s family hopes they’ll keep an eye out for anything that may have to do with his case.
According to Monica Caison, the founder of CUE Center for Missing Persons, this time of the year is when hunters go deep into the woods. While in the woods, they may discover something.
Baker, now 20, was last seen in the Bunker Hill area during the morning of April 16. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
His car, a candy apple red Chevrolet Camero, hasn’t been located, either. The license plate is WRP8627.
Baker is about 160 pounds, six feet tall, white, with dark brown hair, blue eyes and two flame tattoos on his arms, BAKER spelled across his back and the name “Halley” tattooed on his chest.
Travis Baker, now 20, of Taylorsville,
was last seen in the Catawba area on April 16. The Catawba County
Sheriff’s Office is investigating Baker’s disappearance. Investigators
suspect foul play.
About $12,000 has been raised for a
reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in
connection with Travis’ disappearance. The family is working with The
Kristen Foundation, a missing persons organization out of Charlotte, to
help get a permanent billboard sign posted about Travis. An electronic
message about Travis pops up for about 30 seconds on an electronic
billboard on U.S. 70 in Conover.
