An Indiana woman was nine months pregnant when she disappeared over three months ago, and her family has suspicions about her last whereabouts.

Mother of three Emma Baum, 25, went missing Oct. 10 in Gary, Indiana, and she was about to give birth to her fourth child. 

Baum was last seen being dropped off at her boyfriend’s house, her sister Hailey Baum-Waddell told Fox News Digital. 

“Looking for Emma has been a very struggling thing for everybody, mentally and physically and emotionally … but we’re not going to stop looking for her,” Baum-Waddell said. “I think if people keep going on and chanting that something needs to be done and chanting her name … just get the word out because a lot of people know, but not everybody knows.”

Authorities received a missing persons report for Baum from her family Oct. 28, Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady told Fox News Digital. 

“A couple of days went by. … We all started, like, messaging each other, ‘Hey, have you heard from Emma? Anybody seen her? Can you message one of her friends to get a hold of her boyfriend?’ And it was kind of just a ring around with everybody and everyone’s just trying to figure it out,” Baum-Waddell said.

“Then we’re like, ‘OK, well, this is not normal.’ … That’s when my mom really started to panic,” she added. “Then my mom ended up going to the police station.”

Officers with the Gary Police Department have used K-9s on several searches in the area, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department has assisted in a few of the searches, Hamady said.

“We have searched a house, apartment, recreational vehicles and one other property,” he added.

In addition to the police investigation, Baum-Waddell said she and other relatives of Baum have been organizing a widespread search after a social media post of hers drew hundreds of willing participants. 

“There’s been a lot of people who have offered to come out and look for her,” she said. “We’ve talked it over with other search groups. I made a post online just saying, you know, ‘Hands of how many people would be willing to come out,’ and I posted it in multiple groups.”

Baum lived in Portage, Indiana, but was visiting her boyfriend in Gary when she was last seen.

Baum-Waddell said her sister didn’t have a working phone when she disappeared and that although her sister may have “gone off and done her own thing” for several days at a time, she would never disappear for such a long period of time.  

“That day, she was supposed to go with her boyfriend … to the phone store and get it activated, and she never got the phone activated,” she said. “She’s been completely silent on everything, and now that’s not like her.”

Baum-Waddell also mentioned her sister’s devotion as a mother and the close relationship she has with her oldest son.

“They have a freaking crazy, unbreakable bond,” she shared. “For her not to be here to see him on Christmas or Thanksgiving or …  New Year’s. It’s unreal. There’s no way she would do that to him.”

Baum-Waddell believes her sister’s boyfriend is “hiding something,” she told Fox News Digital, and Baum’s mother believes the boyfriend had something to do with her disappearance, WGN9 reported.

“We have not charged anyone with the disappearance of Emma Baum, and she has not been located yet,” Hamady said. “We continue to search and interview individuals that are or maybe associated with this case.”

Baum’s boyfriend, who was originally in custody in an unrelated case, was released from Lake County Jail and is awaiting his court date for the separate charges, Hamady added. 

Baum is approximately 5 feet, 3 inches tall, weighs around 136 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. She has several scars and tattoos, and she often wears colorful wigs. 

“Emma gave everybody her all, gave them all the love that she could,” Baum-Waddell emotionally said about her sister. “She has these big brown eyes, and she always just wanted to make everybody, you know, laugh or feel good about themselves or have them feel included.

“It’s very difficult because now it’s not just her that’s missing. It’s her baby. And you don’t want to think, you know, the worst because who would want to, you know, hurt a girl and her baby?” she added. “We’re just hoping to find her safe.”

Anyone with information on Baum’s disappearance is asked to contact the Gary Police Department at (219) 881-1209. 

INDIANA – An Indiana man was arrested after authorities found him in possession of child pornography during an investigation that started with a cyber tip last May.

Cyber Tip Leads to Arrest 

What we know:

Indiana State Police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in May 2024 about three videos containing child sexual abuse material.

Authorities determined the suspect accessed the videos from Michigan City, Ind. 

During the investigation, officers uncovered additional videos and obtained a search warrant earlier this month.

On Jan. 17, officers executed the search warrant at a home in the 3100 block of Springland Avenue in Michigan City and identified the suspect as 29-year-old Stephen Julius Terrell Morrow II.

Morrow was taken to the La Porte County Jail on a charge of possession of child pornography, a Level 5 felony.

What’s next:

Final charges against Morrow will be determined by the La Porte County prosecutor, authorities said. 

Indiana bounced back from losses to Iowa and Illinois with a 77-76 overtime win against Ohio State on Friday night at Value City Arena. The win improved the Hoosiers to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play.

Here are five takeaways from the win against the Buckeyes:

Indiana responded after embarrassing performances against Iowa and Illinois

After back-to-back 25-point losses to Iowa and Illinois, how Indiana would respond Friday night in Columbus was an open question entering the game.

Would the Hoosiers falter again and allow a third-straight blowout loss? Or would IU regroup as Luke Goode suggested in the aftermath of the Illinois loss?

Indiana regrouped and from the opening tip, the energy was different. The Hoosiers competed for most of the 45 minutes against the Buckeyes. Even when shots weren’t falling in the first half, Indiana never let the game get out of reach.

As the second half began and perimeter shots began to fall, the Hoosiers made a move. By the 5:12 mark of the second half, Indiana led 68-58 and it appeared that a comfortable win was within reach.

However, Indiana faltered down the stretch as Ohio State went on a 13-3 run to close out regulation and force overtime. After falling behind to start the extra period, Goode’s 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining and Anthony Leal’s block with one second left lifted IU to a much-needed victory.

Luke Goode had a career night and IU needed every shot to win

Goode entered the starting lineup on Dec. 29 against Winthrop and has found his shooting stroke in the new year.

Friday marked Goode’s best performance of the season as he poured in a career-high 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field.

Goode was 4-for-7 on 3s. Through eight Big Ten games, Goode is 19-for-41 on 3s (46.3 percent). He’s scored in double figures in four of the last five games.

Nearly every Goode 3-pointer came at a key point in the game for Indiana. His first 3-pointer got the Hoosiers within three at 39-36 with 17:51 to play.

His second triple gave IU the lead at 43-41 at the 15:08 mark and his third stretched the lead to four at 50-46 with 12:50 remaining.

And in overtime, Goode’s 3-pointer with just over a minute to play lifted Indiana to its second conference road win. Goode played every minute of the second half and overtime.

Oumar Ballo dominates Ohio State in the post

Oumar Ballo finished with a double-double Friday night for the fifth time in six games.

The 7-foot, 265-pound big man has taken on a bigger scoring load in the absence of Malik Reneau. Against Ohio State, Ballo had 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting and a 5-for-7 performance from the free throw line.

Ballo also grabbed 15 rebounds with eight of those on the offensive end. He played 40 minutes and added three assists, two blocked shots and a steal.

In Big Ten games, Ballo is averaging 17.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocked shots in 32.1 minutes while shooting 66.3 percent from the field.

While there have been moments where Ballo’s effort has waned inside games, he’s playing the most minutes of his career. In Friday’s win, his hustle kept several possessions alive and his size was too much for the Buckeyes to handle at the rim.

Kanaan Carlyle provides a significant lift off the bench

For the first time since Dec. 9, sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle reached double figures in scoring against Ohio State.

The Atlanta native has struggled with his shooting all season but came alive on Friday night. With Myles Rice benched for most of the game with foul issues, Carlyle played a season-high 36 minutes and delivered his best overall game this season.

Carlyle finished with 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting. He made IU’s only 3-pointer of the first half and didn’t turn the ball over.

While he did struggle at the free throw line – he shot 2-for-5 – Carlyle’s energy on both ends was a major reason the Hoosiers escaped with a win.

Ten of Carlyle’s 13 points came in the second half and overtime, as his aggressive attack on the rim resulted in three layups.

Hoosiers add second Quad 1 win

As ugly as IU’s losses to Iowa and Illinois were, the reality is the Hoosiers still have plenty of opportunities to record NCAA tournament resume-worthy wins.

Friday night was one of those and IU took advantage.

The win against the Buckeyes was the second in Quad 1 of the season for the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes are No. 37 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.

Now 2-5 in Quad 1 games, the Hoosiers still have numerous opportunities to build a case for March Madness. Of Indiana’s remaining 12 regular season games, all 12 are Quad 2 or higher and eight of them are projected to be Quad 1.

With the win against Ohio State, Indiana currently sits at No. 61 in the NET rankings.

Filed to: Kanaan Carlyle, Luke Goode, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oumar Ballo