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DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL
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I would like to thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Your visit to Erica's page tells me that you care. As you have read, my daughter has been missing since February 7, 1999.
February 7, 1999 started as a normal day. Our normal routine of being together for the weekend was nearing its end. Therefore, I returned the children home to their mother. I will never forget hearing for what I did not know would be the last time my daughter would say, "I love you daddy and I'll see you next weekend." Well, next weekend would never come. Upon returning home, I received the call from Erica's grandmother that they could not find Erica. She had been missing since 3:00 or 4:00 P.M. This is where my endless nightmare began.
Erica's mother and myself were up for several days running on pure adrenaline, searching frantically and waiting for any news about our missing daughter. It was almost unbelievable, it was almost like a bad dream that we would never awake from.
Immediately, a recovery center was set up for the search effort of our missing daughter. The response of the public to our cries for help was incredible. People came from all over to help in any capacity that they were needed. For the first 6 months we had many volunteers. After that, the numbers began to dwindle. I must say I understand everyone needed to maintain the normal routines of their daily lives.
After numerous appearances from Erica's mother and myself on national radio and television shows such as Oprah, Maury, Montel, and America's Most Wanted, thousands of leads have been received from tipsters and psychics but Erica has not been recovered. This is not a deterrent for me. This only makes me more determined to keep the effort going. Along with the authorities, I still have a group of volunteers that search for Erica faithfully.
In mention of the authorities, I must say the Kettering Police Department has worked diligently in the effort to locate my daughter. I can never thank them enough. I will always be indebted to them for not giving up on Erica.
During this ordeal I have not forgotten that I have three other children who depend on me to keep our lives in tact. Even though I find it very hard to get up every morning, I do it for them. They are now at the ages when they need a father more than ever. Sometimes I cannot help but feel that Erica's disappearance has distanced us in our relationships. Holidays are not the same and our moods are always somber. Family fishing trips are few and far between. You see, fishing was one of Erica's favorite pastimes. I must say she was a very good "fishergirl". I can only pray that God will continue to watch over us and keep us together. Now is a time when we need to lean on each other the most.
Having a missing child changes your life dramatically. Every day people are asking questions and your family is always in the focus of the media. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate every bit of concern for Erica; but it seems your personal life isn't personal anymore.
This brings me to the way I feel about my daughters' disappearance. It's as if a hole has been ripped into my eternal soul. Erica was "daddy's little girl". She was my only daughter. Although I pray about it on a regular basis, my heart is filled with contempt for whoever it was that took her away from me. I will never get to interrogate her first date, see her in her first prom dress, watch her graduate, send her off to college, or choke back the tears as I walk her down the aisle and give her away on her wedding day. So much has been stolen from my family and myself; not to mention Erica.
I would like to make one last request to the public. I am positive that you have read of the recent events surrounding Erica's case. If not, you can view them via the links on this site. Please go to one of these links and voice your opinion on the matters at hand. Let our judicial system know how you feel regarding federal public defender Beth Lewis' refusal to cooperate with the authorities handling Erica's case.
Erica is possibly the victim to a horrific crime and cover up by her abductor(s). Now is the time to bring Erica home.
I would like to say "thank you" to all of you for your support.
"Erica, daddy will never stop looking for you until you are home and that is a promise."
Greg Baker
Father
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