“Fun-loving, exasperating and absolutely adorable.”
Those were just a few of the words used to describe Lindsey Baum, the precocious 10-year-old girl abducted near her McCleary home in 2009 and found murdered in the fall of 2017, at a memorial service in Olympia Saturday.
“She liked to dot her I’s with stars. She had a high level of energy,” said Abe Daniel, executive pastor at the Evergreen Christian Community Church. Daniel met Lindsey, her mother Melissa and her siblings while working out of a branch of the church in McCleary after the Baum family moved there in 2007.
“She was vibrant and vivacious,” he recalled of Lindsey as she and her family would spend evenings with him at the church. Like a lot of other girls her age, she enjoyed just hanging out with friends, but she had aspects of her personality that struck Daniel as a little more advanced than many of her peers.
She was a skilled arguer, remembered Daniel, able to make people much older reconsider their end of the debate.
“Unlike a lot of girls, her dreams of the future were not about Barbies and Cinderella,” he said. “She wanted to be a famous author.” She had a voracious appetite for the “Twilight” saga and Harry Potter books and wanted to follow in those authors’ footsteps, creating her own magical worlds for others to enjoy.
“Lindsey had character like no other. Her persona drew people to her and she had the ability to stand out in a crowd,” said Daniel. “She cared little what other people thought of her and was dedicated to being exactly what she was.”
Melissa sat front and center in the elaborately and colorfully decorated auditorium, among 100 or so others in attendance. Before the memorial began, Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott approached her, prompting her to leave her seat and tightly embrace the man who has never given up in his search, first for Lindsey, now for the person or persons responsible for taking her life and dumping her in a heavily wooded area 20 miles west of Ellensburg, hundreds of miles from her home.
“Lindsey was the best friend Melissa could ask for,” said Daniel. “Her loss has touched hundreds of people who never had the honor of meeting her. Now I know she would want her mom to keep living and find happiness again.”
Friends were asked to speak as microphones were passed among the pews.
“We will never forget her,” said Becky Spalding, who introduced herself as Lindsey’s Girl Scout leader. “We love you, Lindsey.”
Jason Simmonds spoke on behalf of a group from South Puget Sound Mobile Search and Rescue.
“We have been involved since day one,” he said, noting his own daughter turned 19 that day and was the same age as Lindsey. Several members of the search and rescue team also participated in the search of the site where Lindsey’s remains were found. “We will help the family in any way we can.”
Deanna Maldonado, captain with the search and rescue team, said, “When we weren’t officially searching for her we were always looking.”
Melissa McCann, Melissa Baum’s lifelong friend and babysitter to Lindsey and her siblings, remembered Lindsey hanging out in her store after school.
“Lindsey would just take over the store,” she said. “She would ring up the customers.” She would also “help” with stocking items, typically rearranging the store so even the most regular of customers couldn’t find what they needed. But they all knew all they had to do was ask Lindsey and she would point them in the correct direction. “She was definitely a character. That is one of the great things I remember about her.”
Julie Colbert, part of the group Justice for Lindsey Baum, remarked about the “wonderful team of ladies” that came together to keep Lindsey’s story in the limelight all these years. This is the group that makes appearances at events around the region, raising awareness and pleading with the public to come forward with information regarding Lindsey’s abduction and murder.
“We became so close and loved her so much. She will always be part of our life,” said Colbert. “We pray for justice, because we are not done until we have justice.”
Local singer/songwriter Ericka Corban, originally from Elma, performed Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” at the family’s request, and later performed “Amazing Grace.” She soldiered through her performances, but admitted she broke down backstage, and was emotional after speaking with Melissa after the service.
After a slide show of Lindsey’s life, Daniel remembered a time a decade ago when he sat in the very same auditorium, listening to the congregation say a prayer for the then-missing Lindsey.
“During that time I thought no matter where she is I’m sure she is safe in the arms of God,” he said. “Little did I realize I would be here today reading scriptures to remember precious Lindsey.”
Daniel thought a verse from Luke 18:16 was particularly appropriate for the occasion: “Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to lay His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’”
“When a wife loses a husband she is a widow. When a husband loses a wife he is a widower. When children lose their parents they are orphans,” said Daniel. “But in English there are no words to describe when a parent loses a child. Because it is not a natural thing. But in the midst of that we find comfort in that statement from Jesus Christ: For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Melissa spoke briefly at the end of the service, thanking everyone who attended and the investigators and searchers who aided in the case.
“She’s with my mother now,” said Melissa, adding her mother died the year before Lindsey was born. “I take comfort in that. And they have a shared love of chocolate, so I can picture them every night sharing triple chocolate sundaes.”
The auditorium emptied as Melissa, her family and others made their way to a field where doves were released, followed by butterflies.
The investigation into Lindsey Baum’s death continues. Tips can be made at 360-964-1799 or baumtips@co.grays-harbor.wa.us.
DAN HAMMOCK | THE DAILY WORLD Abe Daniel, executive pastor at the Evergreen Christian Community in Olympia, delivers the service for Lindsey Baum Saturday.
DAN HAMMOCK | THE DAILY WORLD Two of the more than 100 people arrive at the Lindsey Baum memorial service held in Olympia Saturday. The lobby of the Evergreen Christian Community auditorium was lined with photos and other items of remembrance of the 10-year-old, who was abducted in McCleary in 2009. Her remains were discovered in 2017 and identified in the spring of 2018.
