Part 1 – Tommy

On a stifling August afternoon in 1962, fifty-two year old Thomas Baker had taken the  time from chores on his 100 acre farm near Beeton, Ontario, to wheel his tractor out to a site  where a small spring-fed depression indicated a likely spot for a swimming hole. He began to dig away and was not disappointed as he watched the water rise steadily. The spot was nearly 1500 feet  from the house and barn, and obscured by a field of corn, but less than 200 feet from the road. Tom hoped that his efforts would provide some relief from the sweltering heat as well as a little fun for ten year-old Thomasena and her three-year- old brother Alan.

Tommy, as she was affectionately known, and Alan were late arrivals for Tom and his forty-eight year-old wife, Edith. In fact, not only did Tom and Edith have older children who had moved away, they also had grand-children. It was obvious to all that they felt blessed in middle-age to have both the soft-spoken Tommy, her father’s namesake, and Alan, a sweet little boy.

The day after the hole had been scooped, Sunday, August 19th, between 8:15  and 8:30 p.m., Tommy, in her blue swimsuit with white piping, blonde pony-tail bouncing, led little Alan down the drive-way and across to the shallow pool. Tom and Edith carried out their evening chores in the barn without reason to feel concerned. 

A short time later, little Alan would return alone. Understandably, given his age, he could only express that a man in a car had stopped and called something. Tommy, he said, went to the car and the man reached over and pulled her into the front seat, then drove off with her.

Beeton, originally called Clarksville, in honour of blacksmith, Robert Clark, would later be re-named Beeton, when storekeeper and postmaster David Allanson Jones, fascinated with  bees and beekeeping, acquired fifty acres of land and two bee hives, becoming the first commercial beekeeper in all of Canada in the 1870’s. Jones became well-known across, not only Canada, but the United States and Europe, for his apiarist skills and beekeeping techniques, earning the moniker “Bee King of the 19th Century’. And thus, in honour of this legacy, Clarksville would be renamed Bee Town which was later shortened to Beeton.  

Beeton, mostly a farming community, would also be known for its  strong sense of community and caring. This would soon become immediately apparent upon the disappearance of little Tommy Baker.

Word spread quickly within the small farming community. One of the earlier residents to hear of the abduction was young teen, Carolyn Butt, connected by marriage of her older sister, Shirley to Albert, Tommy’s older brother. Not only were the two farms quite close geographically, but the  families were close in every way. At the time, Carolyn’s mother and several of her brothers and sisters were visiting family in Camrose, Alberta. As the events of the first night of Tommy’s disappearance unfolded, Carolyn would begin a letter to her mother. 

Dear Everyone,
Well, now it is ten minutes after one in the morning. Tonight is a very exciting moment. At 8 p.m. I received a phone call from a lady in the country. She asked if Albert was here and I said no. Well, she told me to get in touch with him right away. I wondered what the matter was and she said that Thomasena, Albert’s sister, had been kidnapped! I nearly died. When I told Dad he jumped up and went straight to the Bakers. He came back about 9 p.m. and told us all about it. He said that it was really pitiful. Mrs Baker was in hysterics and they called Dr. Irwin who gave her a needle to go to sleep. The whole town showed up at the Baker’s. Men attended to search and women to cook.

The police asked Tommy’s three year old brother, little Allen, about what happened. The two had headed out for a pond and springs at the rear of the farm in the pasture. Tommy was just wearing her swimsuit. When 3 year old Allen returned home, his Mum asked him where Tommy was and he said that “A man came and took my sister away.” The police asked him “Did the man who took her look like her Dad?” and he said “No.” Dad and Mr. Brandon went into the stream and searched but no luck. Albert is taking it hard. If they don’t find her tonight, Albert and Dad won’t go to work. Mr. Baker has to take pills all the time for his heart. Elda (Albert’s sister)) and Ray are coming up now from London, Ontario.

It is now 18 minutes to 2 a.m. Some ladies came into town to get food. Catania’s (grocery store) opened up for a while and they got supplies.
Strachans Gas Station took up a load of gas somehow, to Baker’s to put in the cars. Albert hasn’t stopped searching since about 9 p.m. and he was sick yesterday morning. None of us can sleep. I have all the doors locked and feel helpless – not being able to help in any way.

Kim is here with us but is sleeping soundly. It took quite a while to get her settled down. Robin is at Bakers with Shirley. (Kim and Robin are both grandchildren of the Bakers, and Shirley, Albert’s wife) It is so nice that all the neighbours could help. Even the teenage boys like Pokenhorn and Goulds are out there. As soon as Dad told a couple of men, in no time there was about 80 men for the search. In a small town like Beeton, everyone is willing to help in any way. Dad said that Baker’s place is just packed with cars. You should be here to help search, John. (Carolyn’s brother).

Kay Kyle said that she could be miles away by now. The poor girl must be freezing now with only her bathing suit. I just hope that she is alive and safe but I doubt it. This will surely teach a lot of children something, even me. I just phoned Shirley and nothing has come up. Allen said that Tommy got into the man’s car. This is as far as they have gotten. I am writing little by little as I hear from Shirley. It is now ten to three in the morning. Not tired yet – just hoping and praying that she is alright. It is now 10 a.m. and I have had no sleep. She is still not found and Mrs Baker is a little better after her rest. Albert and Iki McCullough had a suspicion about a man in town (They do not think it is him anymore.) Poor little Allen is all shaken up. Jim, Dave and Jack all just went out about 6 a.m. to search. Everybody is off from work today to search for Tommy. The men had quite a time. Dad is afraid they might find her in a ditch, but we continue to hope that is not true. I have been listening to the news now and going all through the province so they should find her soon we hope. Dad is out now still. He has had no rest for 24 hours. As soon as they find her, I will let you know. It will be on t.v. today and it will be in the Telegram so we will send you the column. We are getting along alright but will be glad to see Mom back.
I guess you got a big surprise when you saw them all (the news clippings). Well, I will write as soon as we get word that she is safe and sound. Bye for now, heaps of love to all.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo Carolyn

The morning after the abduction, as Carolyn penned her letter to her family in Alberta, OPP Inspector Jim Harris, along with Constable Edward Kelso had already arrived at the Baker home to take charge of the investigation and commence an investigation that would dominate every other case that he had been involved in. By the end of that first day, there were 100 farmers, 45 soldiers, 18 Ontario Provincial police officers and two bloodhounds combing four townships.The intense search would continue day and night for seven days before scaling down. On the second day, 45 RCAF men from Camp Borden joined the search, bringing the number of service personnel to 200 plus an additional 10 civil defense men from Guelph.

Farmers were being lowered into  every well and volunteers beat the swamp and bushland to emerge drenched and mosquito bitten, and to end each day without finding the little girl. Twenty civil defense men from Metropolitan Toronto had set up a walkie-talkie network and two hundred teamsters in Toronto voted to go to the scene. Five volunteers from the Tottenham Fire Brigade poked every local pond and pool with pike poles. Scuba divers and pilots attended as well as boy scouts and factory workers. They were being sheltered and fed in local farm houses and many camping out on the Baker farm itself. It became the province’s largest mass search for a missing person and likely a record at that time.

The Bakers, if not immersed in tragedy enough, were plagued with vicious rumours, letters and phone calls. During the search, one letter received began “I have killed your little girl.” As well, a telephone call suggested that the caller knew where Tommy was buried , but would not tell.

The Ontario Attorney General, Kelso Roberts, posted a $5,000.00 reward as tips rolled in. A couple reported hearing a child crying in the night five miles west of Beeton, and another 25 acre stretch of bushland was combed. 

Gawkers arrived at the farm too, leaving the grieving Tom Baker to clean up crumpled paper and pop bottles at the end of the day. One reporter said that the farm-yard resembled a carnival ground.

By the end of an intense week of searching, 2,000 civilian volunteers and 250 soldiers and airmen had covered 1,700 square miles. 

A  local young man at that time, Ron Pegg of Beeton, would pen his recollections of the events surrounding the search for Tommy. Ron had been filling in for the local pastor at the Church that the Bakers attended. In fact, he had led the congregation the very morning of Tommy’s disappearance and recalled how both Tommy and her mother had attended the service. He also happened to be a friend of Albert’s and had actually stood up at his wedding. He also knew Tommy’s sister from  a youth group that they both attended. 

On the Monday morning after the abduction on the Sunday, Ron’s mother had shaken him awake to tell him of Tommy’ disappearance the previous evening. She told him that quite a number of farmers had already been searching through the night.

Ron headed out immediately and met with the Bakers to pray together. He stayed all day and spent the night with the police in the yard, eventually dozing off just prior to the Tuesday sunrise. 

Ron noted the huge numbers arriving to assist in the search. He estimated about 300 by Tuesday as he searched side by side with Albert. That same evening he took the Bakers to Church for evening prayer, eventually returning them to the farm then heading home for a night’s sleep. Wednesday produced no more clues as to Tommy’s whereabouts and Ron once again took the family to Church for evening service.

On Thursday, Ron would hear that the police had asked forty-some employees of a sporting goods factory who lived in the area, to take off that day to help lead groups of searchers as they knew the area well. When the employees told their Toronto employer the next day, it was reported that he told them all that if any of them failed to come to work, they could consider themselves fired. The employees, to a man, assisted with the Thursday search and ultimately, their employer  took them back without a word.

Ron continued to take the Bakers to Church each day and reported that on Saturday, the biggest search of all was planned. Headquarters were moved from the Baker farm to the local arena. Ron recorded that more than 5000 people attended to assist with the search. By now,

The Pastor had returned and took over the role of ministering to the Bakers.

It would be over a year before there was any light shed in the Tommy case – a long and painful year for many. What would come to light proved to be stranger and with more twists and turns than anyone could imagine.

For the Bakers, as long as a body wasn’t found  then Tommy might just still be alive.

Footnote* The correct spelling of Tommy’s full name is Thomasena and her brother, Alan. All other renderings are those taken from newspaper accounts and other documents.