The father of a missing North Carolina girl who was last seen in her bedroom over the weekend said Monday that it's possible his wife was involved in the child's disappearance.
Zahra Clare Baker, a 10-year-old hearing-impaired girl with a prosthetic leg, disappeared from her Hickory, N.C., home in the early morning hours on Saturday.
Authorities on Sunday arrested the girl's stepmother, Elisa Baker, on about a dozen charges unrelated to the case. The charges included communicating threats, larceny, writing worthless checks and driving with a revoked license, police told WRAL-TV.
While Baker is not named a suspect in the case, authorities have not eliminated her as a "person of interest," the station reports.
The girl's father, Adam Baker, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday that his wife may be involved in Zahra's disappearance.
When asked about the possibility, Baker said, "I wouldn't like to think so. On what I've heard so far, it could be possible."
"I just hope I can get my daughter back. I miss her so much," he said, choking up, as he was interviewed alongside the Hickory police chief.
The FBI is involved in the investigation, and police have collected surveillance video from businesses near the family's home and used dogs to search the neighborhood.
Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins said he couldn't rule out any suspects, including Adam Baker.
"As the time progresses, we might be able to rule out folks," Adkins said. "But right now, every possibility is out there."
The girl was reported missing by her parents on Saturday afternoon -- 12 hours after her stepmother said she last saw her daughter sleeping at 2:30 a.m.
Zahra uses hearing aids in both ears and has a prosthetic left leg from the knee down. She doesn't have her hearing aids with her, police said.
A Hickory police statement said abduction by a stranger seems "less likely" than originally believed, according to the Charlotte Observer.
"We are using every available resource we have at our disposal to find Zahra," Adkins said. "We are not giving up hope that Zahra will return home safe and sound."
Zahra was last seen wearing a camouflage Army T-shirt and black knee-length tights, according to an Amber Alert issued Saturday. She is white, 5-feet-1, weighs 85 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information about the missing girl is asked to call Hickory police at (828) 328-5551.
Click here for more on this story from WRAL.com
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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