SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Missing Since: August 6, 1956 from San Gabriel Canyon, California
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 13 years old
Height and Weight: 5'1, 100 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Baker's nicknames are Don and Donnie. Some agencies give his age at the time of his disappearance as 15 years old.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A white t-shirt, blue jeans and a burgundy jacket with stripes on the sleeves
Missing Since: August 6, 1956 from San Gabriel Canyon, California
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 11 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female
Details of Disappearance
Baker was last seen on August 6, 1956. He was accompanied by a friend, Brenda Jo Howell, at the time. The two of them rode their bicycles to the San Gabriel Canyon area near Glendora Mountain Road and disappeared. A days later, Baker's jacket and Howell's bicycle were found near Morris Dam, a quarter of a mile south of where they were last seen. Baker's bicycle was located a month later. Neither of the children have been heard from again.
Authorities initially believed the children had run away from home, but later events altered their opinion. In 1970, Mack Ray Edwards pleaded guilty to killing three California children and sentenced to death at his own request. He subsquently confessed to the murders of three others, including Baker, Howell and Roger Madison. Edwards directed them to a site where he said he had disposed of their bodies, but a search of the area turned up no signs of any remains. Edwards was never charged in connection with any other cases due to lack of evidence. He committed suicide on death row in 1971. A photograph of Edwards is posted below this case summary. Howell was his sister-in-law and Baker was one of his neighbors.
Two other children disappeared from the San Gabriel Mountains in the 1950s and 1960s; the others are Bruce Kremen, who disappeared on July 12, 1960, and Thomas Bowman, who disappeared on March 23, 1957. Authorities believe Edwards was most likely responsible for their disappearances, as well as the disappearance of Karen Tompkins, who vanished from Torrance, California in 1961. His alleged victims ranged in age from eight years to sixteen.
Baker lived with his parents in the 5700 block of Rockdale Avenue in Azusa, California in 1956. At the time of her disappearance, Howell was visiting her married sister who lived in the 5700 block of Rockdale Avenue in Azusa, California. She normally resided in Fort Bragg, California. Foul play is suspected in their case due to the circumstances involved. Their case was reopened in 2007 as authorities renewed the search for the bodies of Edwards's victims. He was employed as a heavy equipment operator in the 1950s and 1960s, and helped construct many highways across the state of California. Investigators believe he may have buried the children's remains under the highways.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
323-890-5500