A missing 10-year old girl from North Carolina was thought to be missing, but now the investigation has shifted to a homicide. Zahra Baker was reported missing over the weekend by her father and stepmother who claimed they last saw her in her bed. Local authorities have trouble believing this story, and for good reason.

Zahra’s stepmother, Elisa Baker, is currently behind bars on unrelated charges. She has also been accused of writing a fake $1 million ransom note to throw off investigators. Even more disturbing is that friends and family of the Bakers have stated that Elisa was often hard on Zahra and that she repeatedly physically abused the child.

What makes this investigation so difficult is that no one has seen Zahra within the past month, so it’s hard to know exactly how long she’s been missing. She also fought a long battle with childhood cancer, leaving her deaf and with a prosthetic leg. In recent reports, investigators have indicated that they believe Zahra was alive in mid-September when the family moved to a new home. Yet neighbors say they didn’t even know that the family had a young daughter.

Investigators have begun looking for the body of 10-year old Zahra and are deeply saddened by the grim details that this case is bringing out. A vigil was held Wednesday night and a deacon at East Hickory Baptist Church said that everyone is praying for the girl.

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