On February 7, 1999, nine-year-old Erica Baker left her home in Kettering, Ohio to walk the family dog near the city’s recreation center.
Later that rainy afternoon, Erica’s dog was found huddled outside a nearby house. Erica never returned.
Over the past 24 years, there have been tips, multiple searches and the conviction, sentencing and release of a man who said he drove the van that struck and killed Erica Baker.
This week, Cox Media Group’s Nicole Bennett had the opportunity to speak with now retired Detective Bob Green who has been investigating Erica Baker’s disappearance for more than two decades. Erica’s case is still considered an active missing child investigation. Since Det. Green’s retirement from the Kettering Police Department in 2018, the case has been transferred to two other detectives. However, Green told CMG he stays very involved with the investigation, assisting the department with anything that is needed to “return Erica to her family for a proper burial.”
Beyond Criminal Headlines is a podcast in which Cox Media Group’s Nicole Bennett sits down with experts who’ve investigated some of the most notorious cases in U.S. history. Find the latest ‘Beyond Criminal Headlines’ content on any podcast provider or listen on demand here.
Christian Gabriel served six years in prison for gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence “after confessing to driving the van that struck Erica near the intersection of Glengarry Drive and Powhattan in Kettering,” WHIO reports.
Gabriel later told Det. Green that he and his girlfriend at the time, Jan Franks, had criminal records and did not want to involve the police. Instead of calling for help, Gabriel claimed they put Erica inside their van and took off.
Since his confession in 2004, Gabriel has pointed investigators to some locations where nothing has been found. However, after being released from prison in 2011, Gabriel has not given them any other clues. Jan Franks reportedly died of a drug overdose in 2001.
Gokavi writes that Erica’s father, Greg, her mother, Melissa “Misty” Baker, her grandmother, Pam Schmidt, and her three older brothers have pleaded for Gabriel to come clean.
Erica’s body has never been recovered and she is presumed dead but after all these years, authorities say they will persist in their search for the Kettering girl’s remains.
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