Police Find Missing NC Girl's Prosthetic Leg

(Oct. 27) -- Authorities in North Carolina said today they have found a prosthetic leg that they believe belonged to Zahra Clare Baker, the 10-year-old disabled girl who is missing and feared slain.

Police in Hickory made the announcement today during a late-afternoon media briefing at police headquarters. According to Hickory Police Maj. Clyde Deal, the prosthetic leg was found in a "brushy area" at a search site.

While authorities are not yet certain the leg is Zahra's, Deal said it is "consistent with what Zahra's would be like." Authorities are trying to match the serial number on the leg to hospital records to see if it is a match to the one that was fitted for the hearing-impaired girl, who lost her leg to bone cancer, WRAL reported.

Meanwhile, the Raleigh News & Observer reported that investigators have returned to the Baker home and are digging in the backyard. Authorities are not yet commenting on what prompted the sudden search.

These latest developments come just one day after authorities searching a Caldwell County landfill found a discarded mattress that they believe could belong to Zahra. They said the mattress may hold evidence that could be relevant to the case.

"This mattress possessed DNA evidence that will be tested in the future to confirm if it is involved with this investigation," Hickory police said in a statement to AOL News.

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

During the investigation, specially trained dogs detected the scent of human remains on property belonging to Baker and Zahra's stepmother, Elisa Baker. Dogs also detected similar scents during a recent search of property that reportedly belongs to a tree services company that employed Zahra's father for about the past six months, according to the Hickory Daily Record.

On Monday, authorities arrested Adam Baker on charges unrelated to her disappearance. 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.

Earlier this month, Elisa Baker was charged with obstruction of justice in the case after she allegedly wrote a fake 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.

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

Investigators said Tuesday that Baker and her attorneys have been "providing information" to police.

"This information and all other leads are being followed up by the investigation team," Hickory Police said in a statement to AOL News.

Deal has declined to elaborate on what prompted Elisa Baker to talk with police or what information she has provided to them.

When asked during today's news conference if the stepmother had led police to the location of the prosthetic leg, Deal replied, "I cannot comment on that at this time," according to Gather.com.

Elisa Baker is being held on a $65,000 bond. Adam Baker posted $7,000 bond late this afternoon and was released from the Catawba County Jail, the Hickory newspaper said. He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 18.