She Vanished While Nine Months Pregnant, And Her Mom Thinks Her Boyfriend Played A Role In Her Disappearance
Emma Baum, a 25-year-old mother of three, was nine months pregnant with her fourth child when she disappeared on October 10, 2024, in Gary, Indiana. She was only days away from her due date, but over six months later, she remains missing.
That day, Emma was last seen near the intersection of 25th Avenue and Connecticut Street while getting dropped off at her boyfriend’s residence, located in a reportedly desolate region.
According to her sister, Hailey Baum-Waddell, alarm bells began to go off among her loved ones a few days later.
“A couple of days went by. We all started, like, messaging each other, ‘Hey, have you heard from Emma? Has anybody seen her? Can you message one of her friends to get hold of her boyfriend?’ And it was kind of just a ring around with everybody, and everyone’s just trying to figure it out,” Hailey recalled.
Soon after, their mother, Jamie, began to panic and visited the police station to report her daughter missing on October 28. Since then, investigators have conducted various searches with the help of canines, including at a home, apartment, recreational vehicles, and an additional property, as well as multiple interviews.
Her loved ones have also personally scoured the Gary neighborhood where she was last seen, handed out flyers, and continued trying to raise awareness about her case in the media.
“We’re always going to look. I’m never going to stop looking for her. My whole family will never stop looking for you, Emma,” Jamie shared in November.
Emma had been living in Portage, Indiana, when she vanished and didn’t own a working phone. After getting dropped off at her boyfriend’s home, she was supposed to go to a phone store with him to get her device activated.
But Hailey says that didn’t happen, and Emma has been “completely silent on everything,” which is uncharacteristic.
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She describes Emma as a devoted mother, and while the 25-year-old has “gone off and done her own thing” in the past, she has never lost touch for so long. Emma also had an “unbreakable” bond with her son, which Hailey doesn’t think she’d walk away from.
“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,” she said.
Jamie thinks Emma’s boyfriend played a role in her disappearance, and Hailey suspects he is “hiding something.” After being taken into custody in an unrelated case, he was released from Lake County Jail.
However, no one has been charged in connection with Emma’s case, and her whereabouts are still unknown.
“We continue to search and interview individuals who are or may be associated with this case,” stated Gary Police Commander Jack Hamady in January.
Emma’s other sister, Abby Smith, remembers her as a beautiful, energetic young woman who “reached for the sky,” just like her favorite plant, the sunflower.
“We love you, Emma. And if you can hear us, there is nothing that you have done to make any of us stop loving you. We trust that somebody knows something, and we want her home,” Abby said.
Emma is five feet three, weighs approximately 136 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. She also has multiple scars and tattoos, and may have given birth.
Anyone with information regarding her case is urged to contact the Gary Police Department at (219) 881-1209.
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