Adam Baker, Zahra Baker's Father, Arrested; Charges Unrelated to North Carolina Girl's Disappearance

(Oct. 25) -- Authorities in North Carolina have arrested the father of a 10-year-old disabled girl who is missing and feared slain on charges unrelated to her disappearance, police said.

Zahra Baker's father, Adam Baker, was reportedly taken into police custody at Charlotte Douglas International Airport early Monday. According to North Carolina media reports, Baker faces one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of failure to return rental property, two counts of communicating threats and five counts of writing worthless checks.

The charges are not related to Zahra's disappearance, Hickory Police Department spokeswoman Libby Grigg told WXII News.

Officials do not believe Baker, who is an Australian citizen, was attempting to flee the area at the time of his arrest, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

"We believe he was at the airport picking up relatives who were flying in from Australia," Grigg told AAP.

Baker told police he last saw his daughter about 2:30 a.m. Oct. 9, sleeping in her bed. He said he and his wife had slept in that Saturday morning and did not notice Zahra was missing until about 2 p.m.

Specially trained dogs have since detected the scent of human remains on property belonging to Baker and Zahra's stepmother, Elisa Baker. Dogs also allegedly detected similar scents during a recent search of property that reportedly belongs to a foreman for Real Tree Services. The company has employed Zahra's father for about the past six months, according to the Hickory Daily Record.

Investigators believe the hearing-impaired girl, who has bone cancer and uses a prosthetic leg, could have been missing for two weeks before she was reported missing.

Earlier this month, Elisa Baker was charged with obstruction of justice in the case after she allegedly wrote a ransom note to confuse authorities. The stepmother had previously been arrested on charges unrelated to the child's disappearance. Those charges include writing fraudulent checks, larceny and failure to appear.

If found guilty on the obstruction charge, she could face 30 months in prison.

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Last week, a Catawba County district judge increased bond for Baker from $45,000 to $65,000 after prosecutors convinced him she was a flight risk, The Associated Press reported.

Elisa Baker's attorney, Scott Reilly, blamed media attention for causing the judge to set what he considers excessive bond in the case, the AP reported.

No one has been charged in connection with Zahra's disappearance, and Elisa Baker says she had nothing to do with it.

Adam Baker is being held at the Catawba County jail on $7,000 bond. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Nov. 18. It is unclear if he has an attorney.