The Bakers purchased a home in Beaufort, South Carolina by 1987. James, Paul's father, was a sergeant at the Marine Corps Air Station there. Susan, his mother, told authorities that she put Paul down for a nap inside their residence at 11:00am on March 5. Susan claimed she fell asleep herself after that, under the influence of alcohol and muscle relaxants, and woke up at 12:30 or 1:30pm to a call from James. James called her after the station's family services notified him that a woman had called them claiming she had Paul, and he was okay. Paul had vanished from the Bakers' residence. He has never been seen again.