As lighting flashed and thunder roared in the skies over McCleary Wednesday evening, Melissa Baum spoke to dozens of candle-holding community members at the dedication of her daughter’s remembrance garden at Beerbower Park.

“It’s been a long 10 years,” she said, since her daughter Lindsey was abducted and murdered a decade to the day before.

She said that while Lindsey’s killer has still not been caught, the dedication that evening was not about the investigation. She said the garden was a place where Lindsey’s “spirit could be felt, her laughter be heard.”

Local singer/songwriter Ericka Corban opened the dedication with a rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” then turned the microphone over to Michelle Ames, who spearheaded the effort to make the garden a reality.

Ames thanked the dozens of volunteers and many local businesses that helped with the garden, then introduced Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott, who has been with the investigation into Lindsey’s abduction and murder since she first disappeared June 26, 2009, on a 10-minute walk home from a friend’s house to her own, not far from where her garden now stands.

Scott recognized the agencies working with the Sheriff’s Office on the case, including the FBI, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and, since Lindsey’s remains were found in remote country in Central Washington in the fall of 2017, the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’ve worked seamlessly together,” said Scott. “We’ve put tens of thousands of hours (into the investigation) and will keep at it until we bring this case to a close.

“And we will bring it to close,” said Scott.

Corban returned and performed “I Will See You Again,” a song that Melissa Baum told Corban “has gotten her through some dark times over the last decade.”

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Melissa Baum speaks at the remembrance garden dedicated Wednesday to the memory of her daughter, Lindsey, who was abducted from McCleary in 2009.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott watches local singer/songwriter Ericka Corban perform “I Will See You Again” at the Lindsey Baum remembrance garden dedication in McCleary Wednesday.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Volunteers offered T-shirts, wrist bands, magnets and other items bearing the image of Lindsey Baum at the remembrance garden dedication Wednesday. At left is Michelle Ames, who organized the volunteer efforts to put the garden in Beerbower Park, not far from where Lindsey, her brother Josh and mother Melissa lived when Lindsey was abducted in 2009.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott assured those in attendance at the Lindsey Baum remembrance garden dedication Wednesday his department and partner agencies will continue to pursue the person responsible for the 10-year-old girl’s abduction and murder a decade ago.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Michelle Ames, right, welcomes everyone who attended the dedication of the Lindsey Baum remembrance garden in McCleary Wednesday. She thanked the many volunteers, the City of McCleary, and local businesses who made the garden possible.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Ericka Corban performs at the Lindsey Baum remembrance garden dedication at Beerbower Park in McCleary Wednesday. At left is the butterfly bench purchased by an anonymous donor.