'Somebody knows something': Northwest Indiana families plead for answers in missing persons cases

Families of several missing people in northwest Indiana are calling for answers in cases dating back as far as 2015 and as recently as last fall.

GARY, Ind. - It’s been one year since 25-year-old Emma Baum and her unborn child disappeared in northwest Indiana, and her family is still searching for answers.

What we know:

Baum was last seen Oct. 10, 2024, after being dropped off in the 2500 block of Connecticut Street in Gary. Family members believe she was visiting her estranged boyfriend that day. She was nine months pregnant and due to give birth any day.

Authorities say a missing persons report was filed on Oct. 28 after relatives hadn’t heard from her.

"A couple of days went by. … We all started, like, messaging each other, ‘Hey, have you heard from Emma?’" said her sister, Hailey Baum-Waddell, in an interview with Fox News Digital earlier this year. "Then we’re like, ‘OK, well, this is not normal.’ That’s when my mom really started to panic."

Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady said officers have used K9s in several searches, with help from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

"We have searched a house, apartment, recreational vehicles and one other property," he said. Police say they continue to interview people who may be connected to the case.

Despite the searches and social media outreach, there’s been no sign of Baum or her unborn baby. Her family questions why a Silver Alert was never issued, arguing she met the criteria for a "High Risk Missing Person" because of her pregnancy.

Baum lived in Portage, but had been visiting her boyfriend in Gary at the time of her disappearance. She didn’t have a working phone and was supposed to activate one that day, her sister said.

"She’s been completely silent on everything, and now that’s not like her," Baum-Waddell said.

She believes her sister's boyfriend is "hiding something," she told Fox News Digital. He was later taken into custody on unrelated charges, according to police.

What's next:

On the one-year anniversary of her disappearance, family and volunteers gathered at Gateway Park across from Gary City Hall. They released balloons and handed out flyers, hoping to keep Emma’s story alive.

"Looking for Emma has been a very struggling thing for everybody, mentally and physically and emotionally," Baum-Waddell previously said. "But we’re not going to stop looking for her."

What you can do:

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Gary Police Department at 219-881-1209.