Right 2: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 16 years; 24 years
Right 2: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 16 years; 24 years
Name: Erica Nicole Baker
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Case Classification: Lost, Injured, Missing
Missing Since: February 7, 1999
Location Last Seen: Kettering, Montgomery County, Ohio
Date of Birth: June 22, 1989
Age: 9 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: 3'11"
Weight: 65 lbs
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Hazel
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Available; front teeth are crooked.
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available
Clothing: Pink rain jacket; pink Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt: blue jeans; white tennis shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Erica Baker was last seen when she left the house to walk her dog between 3:00 P.M. and 3:30 P.M. on February 7, 1999. The dog was later found but Erica has not been seen since.
Police found few clues, but they developed a scenario based on sources that Erica had been struck by a car and one or more occupants picked up her body and hid it.
Christian Gabriel was found guilty on one count of gross abuse of a corpse and one count of tampering with evidence.
In the search for Erica's body, Gabriel took investigators to Eastwood Lake, Huffman MetroPark and finally to Caesar Creek State Park. In July 2004, he told Kettering Police that he and three others were in a van when they struck Erica in the street. The other three buried her at Huffman MetroPark.
Four months later, his story changed. He was in the van with just one other person, Jan Franks, and they buried the body in a different location.
Three months later, his story changed again. This time he said he did not own a van at the time of her disappearance. Erica's body has never been found. A woman, who police said was also in the van at the time, died before she could tell authorities about the case.
Agency Name: Kettering Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Detective Masson
Agency Phone Number: 937-296-2555
Agency E-Mail: kettering.police@ketteringoh.org
Agency Case Number: 990266/
NamUs Case Number: 4455
NCIC Case Number: M188731580
NCMEC Case Number: NCMC860119
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 03/20/2024 - By: mc
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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