Remains Positively Identified as Travis Lee Baker

June 25, 2009

According to authorities in North Carolina, remains found in a Catawba hay field yesterday have been positively identified as Travis Lee Baker, a 19-year-old man who went missing on April 14, 2007.

As was previously reported, 46-year-old John Mitchell Jr., a resident of Orange County, Florida, was booked late last night and placed into a county jail after a tipster provided police with information that implicated Mitchell and led to the discovery of Travis's remains.

According to Lt. Joel Fish, of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office, Mitchell got into an argument with Travis and shot him. A motive in the shooting has not yet been released; however investigators believe at least two other people were present during the incident. Charges against those individuals could be forthcoming, as well as charges against the owner of the property where the remains were found.

During an afternoon press conference, Chief Deputy Coy Reid said that Mitchell is also a suspect in another unsolved Catawba County murder, but he declined to provide further details.

Mitchell is expected to be extradited sometime tomorrow.

Related Links:
Man Charged in Murder of Missing NC Teen, Travis Lee Baker
A Thanksgiving Wish for the Missing
Travis Lee Baker: Teen's Sudden Disappearance Baffles Police

Photo Credit: Contributed

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