Michael Joe Wesley Baker was a young man whose skeleton was found by three boys on the second floor of a partially collapsed, burned out house at 70 Calvin Lane of Cameron, North Carolina on November 11, 2005. The house burned down two years prior and was previously abandoned.
In 2019, forensic anthropologist Dr. Ann Ross of the North Carolina State University received a grant to start the North Carolina Cold Case Initiative. This case was among the first thirteen the Initiative began working on. Ross and Leslie Kaufman, a freelance forensic genealogist, discovered a lead within a few months. They reported their findings to Detective John Hawley, who located a family member named Linda Michelle Baker Bauer. Bauer was cooperative and provided her DNA to aid authorities. The remains were identified as belonging to her brother, Michael, on January 1, 2021.
Baker lived in Sanford, North Carolina, but he moved around working day-labor jobs. He was reported missing in 2007 by his sister.
Although what he was doing at the house is unknown, forensic findings at the time of Baker's discovery determined he had no signs of trauma. Additionally, authorities state there is no evidence a crime had occurred in this case.