APACHE COUNTY, AZ — ABC15 is getting the first birds-eye view of the Yurt "tent" where Rebekah Baptiste and her family were living before her death. Court records show the 10-year-old's dad, Richard Baptiste, moved the family to rural Apache County at the beginning of July.
Previously, the family had been living in central Phoenix.
But the investigation into Rebekah's death involves multiple counties and began in Holbrook, Arizona on July 27.
That's when police met the family at an intersection, finding Rebekah severely injured and unresponsive.
"She's been running away for the last three or four weeks since we've been here," Baptiste told officers. "She ran away this morning…"
Baptiste and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, are caught on body camera video talking to officers about Rebekah, what happened that day, and their interactions with the state Department of Child Safety.
Baptiste and Woods told police that neighbors found the young girl in a wash.
"It breaks my heart," said Richard Jolley.
He said he's lived in River Meadows Ranch, the area where the Baptiste family was living, for seven years.
"To this day, I think about Rebekah," said Jolley. "Never got to meet the little girl, but she's 10 years old. How can you? I can't fathom what she was going through."
He showed our team Facebook posts from when Rebekah previously went missing.
"911 everyone, there is a 10-year-old little girl who is missing," read the post.
The post appeared to be updated later after Rebekah was found.
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Jolley said he spoke with a neighbor who found the girl during one of those prior searches, but the community was led to believe the 10-year-old had mental health struggles.
"It's not nice terrain," said Jolley. "There's a lot of cactus, a lot of brush trees, and you know it's pure sand out here."
He and others are left with many emotions, including "pure anger." Jolley said he also has questions about what happened on July 27.
"No child should live in fear," said Jolley.
A report from Navajo County details an interview with Baptiste and Woods.
Detectives say Woods told them Rebekah would hide in trees waiting for an adult to pass that she could ask to live with.
The report also detailed the punishments allegedly used by Baptiste and Woods and the questions detectives had for the couple.
Rebekah's death has sparked concern regarding DCS and what the young girl's welfare was before her death.
ABC15 is still waiting for records requests and responses from multiple agencies, including DCS.
Baptiste and Woods are charged with murder and child abuse. They are both due back in court in Apache County next month.
