The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office has released surveillance footage that shows a person of interest in Lindsey Baum’s disappearance, and it plans to interview with two women seen talking to him in the video.
The person is shown in a now-closed convenience store in downtown McCleary about the same time that investigators believe the child disappeared June 26, 2009. She last was seen about 9:15 p.m. after leaving a friend’s home on Maple Street in McCleary.
The footage of the man making a purchase inside Mike’s Market on West Simpson Avenue contradicts his statements that he was “nowhere near McCleary” when Baum went missing, Grays Harbor Undersheriff Rick Scott said Thursday.
“He had categorically denied being in McCleary at the time she disappeared,” Scott said. “Obviously, the video shows that’s not the case.”
Scott added that the man, who owns a jewelry store northwest of McCleary, acknowledges that the video depicts him. Investigators searched his home and store in October.
Investigators have only recently shared the video with the man, Scott said. He would not discuss how the man reacted when he was shown the video.
Scott said the existence of the video was withheld from the public, and from the person of interest, at the advice of the FBI, which is assisting the Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.
Investigators released the video in attempt to identify two women who briefly spoke with the man in the store, Scott said. There is no audio, he said.
Scott said Thursday that a detective had spoken to one of the women, who identified the other as her sister. Investigators have scheduled interviews with both; it’s unknown when that will happen.
“What they saw, heard or observed could be important to us,” Scott said.
Investigators think Baum, 10 at the time of her disappearance, is the victim of foul play.
“His motive for not telling us the truth at the onset is something we’re interested in and are continuing to look at,” Scott said of the man. “We’ve known this video was in conflict with what we were being told.”
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445
jpawloski@theolympian.com
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