It has been nearly a year since anyone has seen 19-year-old Travis Lee Baker, and his family remains convinced foul play was involved in his sudden and mysterious disappearance.
Travis, a resident of Taylorsville, N.C., vanished without a trace on the morning of April 14, 2007. According to family members, Travis had gone to visit a friend in Catawba that morning, and at 11:09 a.m., he called his fiancée, Haley, to tell her he was leaving to visit another friend. During their brief conversation, they agreed to have lunch together later that day.
Less than 20 minutes later, Travis sent a text message to Haley that read: "Baby, I will see you in a few minutes." That would prove to be the last time his fiancée would hear from him. Ensuing text messages from Haley were unanswered and calls to Travis’ cell phone went straight to voice mail. He never showed up for the lunch date, and later that day, he failed to show up for his job at a major food distribution company. Concerned for their son’s safety, Travis’ parents notified the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office and reported him missing.
Investigators conducted aerial searches the following day in an attempt to locate Travis’ car – a 1998 candy-apple-red Chevrolet Camaro, license plate number WRP8627 – but they were unable to find any trace of it. Police also interviewed the friend with whom Travis was last seen. What he told investigators remains unknown; however, a source close to the investigation alleges that he failed a polygraph test.
About a month after Travis’ disappearance, this friend allegedly called Travis’ parents and offered to share some trout that the two of them had caught while fishing together before Travis went missing. During the phone call, Travis’ father, Dwayne Baker, asked the man to cooperate with police and tell them everything he knew. The man agreed and said that he would call them the next day, but he never did, and shortly thereafter, he obtained legal representation.
As time progressed, flyover searches encompassed Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, but none resulted in the discovery of Travis or his car.
"We have no new concrete evidence," Lt. Roy Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff’s Department recently stated in an interview with Observernewsonline.com, adding, "We don’t stop looking. We don’t make presumptions. We have had people that have been missing for 12 to 15 years show up alive."
In addition to local and state authorities, the Kristen Foundation is also assisting the Baker family, by helping to raise funds to erect a highway billboard with Travis’ photo and information.
Police have received hundreds of tips in Travis’ case, but unfortunately, his parents still have no closure and no answers. For them, not knowing is the hardest part. His mother, Patricia Baker, has not had a good night sleep in months. Her nerves make her sick with migraines and nausea, and his father says the fear and anxiety is almost too much to bear.
Travis’ family has distributed and posted hundreds of fliers, and they have started a MySpace page in the hope that it might result in a tip from someone who is too afraid to contact the police. That profile reads in part:
Hi, my name is Travis Lee Baker. I am an endangered missing person. I was 19 years old before I disappeared but have since had a birthday on July 10, 2007, so now I'm 20 years old. I am a great athlete; I played football my whole life and received so many trophies that you can't count them all. I graduated from Bunker Hill High and went to work with my mom at MDI. I've never missed even ONE day of work and am a homebody. I like to fish, hunt and do anything outdoors with my dad … My car, personal belongings, cell phone, wallet, etc., have not been seen since April 16, 2007.
Travis’ aunt Tonya also keeps a flier taped to the front of her purse as she carries it around town, vowing not to remove it until he is found. His family members, as they go about their daily business, are constantly on the lookout for any signs of Travis’s missing red Camaro.
In the meantime, the family continues to hope, worry and wait.
Travis is described as 6 feet tall, 160 pounds, with short brown hair and blue eyes. He has four tattoos: red and black tribal bands on his left and right upper arms, the name "Haley" on his chest, and his last name "BAKER" in capital Old English letters on his back.
According to Kristenfoundation.org, an $11,000.00 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the disappearance of Travis Baker. Anyone with information should contact the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office at +1-828-465-8301. Anyone interested in donating space for a billboard should call +1-704-846-7408.