By Kim Sullivan of the Springfield News

MOHAWK VALLEY - Neighbors will tell you it's  been a strange chain of events at Conrad Baker Jr.'s  place up Parsons Creek Road these last tw o weeks.   First the arson fire, then the discovery of a shallow
grave near the barn, which is believed by Lane County  Sheriff's officials to contain the bones of Baker's  mother, Martha Baker, who moved in with her son  and his family around 1987. 

"We've been asking the question for years," said one Mohawk Valley resident who wishes to remain  anonymous. "Where's Conrad's mother?" 
 
According to the neighbor, who had hired Baker's  wife, Sue, to do light housework, Baker's mother  moved in with the family several years ago and
attended a local church with the family.   Baker and his wife, who have four children ranging in  age from adult to early teens, moved to the Marcola
area from California more than a decade ago.   Baker's wife home-schooled their children and Baker  started a small office supply business on Olympic  Street. It was thought that Martha Baker, who was born Feb. 9, 1927, battled Alzheimer's disease, and she was  known by congregation members for her erratic  driving. 

"No offense," the neighbor said, "but she'd get in that  car after church and drive like a bat out of hell."  

Several years ago, the neighbor said, Martha Baker  quit attending the small rural church and she heard later  the family began attending a larger church in Eugene.   Martha Baker's absence was noticed. 

"All of a sudden," the neighbor said, "she's just gone.   We asked and Conrad said he'd put her in a nursing home in California. But he was always vague."

Investigators have determined Martha Baker died sometime around January 1990, although no official record of her death exists.    The neighbor said other neighbors were suspicious and rumors circulated throughout the Marcola area.  Baker was known for owning "an arsenal and
human-shaped targets all around the woods all shot up with rapid fire weapons" surrounding their home, the  neighbor said. 

Pieces of the still incomplete Conrad Baker Jr. puzzle  began falling into place about two weeks ago. According to Detective Sgt. Matt Keetle, Lane County Sheriff's deputies were called on June 23 to check on a suicidal person at 36861 Parsons Creek Road but found no one home. A little after 5 a.m. the following day, Springfield police responded to a call at
Baker's store, Office Products, on Olympic Street. A short while later, Baker was taken into custody on a "peace officer hold," or mental evaluation, and taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene for evaluation.

At 5:57 that same morning the Mohawk Valley Fire Department responded to a structure fire at Baker's Parsons Creek address. Upon arrival, firefighters found the road blocked with a pickup truck and the
home, which sits along the creek, fully engulfed. Due to the suspicious nature of the fire, arson investigators from Oregon State Police as well as detectives from the Lane County Sheriff's Office were called to the
scene.  All that remains of the home is a metal staircase amidst charred debris. 

Officials said Baker's wife and children are safe at an undisclosed location. 
Baker, 47, was later transferred to the Lane County Jail and lodged on one count of arson 1 and three counts of animal abuse 1, due to the death of at least three family pets. Bail has been set at $500,000. 
 
During investigation of the arson, information was received regarding the possibility of a deceased person buried on the property. A search was conducted and human remains were located and tentatively identified
as Martha Lucille Baker, buried approximately 11 years earlier. 
The cause of the older woman's death is under investigation and no charges had been filed in the case as of Tuesday afternoon. 
 
The Sheriff's Office said it is working with the Social Security office to determine whether checks to Martha Baker were issued and cashed at any time over the last several years. 
 
Baker made headlines in April when local firefighters and police officers were recognized by the Springfield City Council for saving his life after Baker suffered a heart attack on Dec. 13 while walking on 28th Street,
near Olympic. At that time, Baker's pulse was restored after officers provided CPR, then used a defibrillator to deliver shocks. Baker was present at the April awards ceremony.

(OMED: Kim told us that since this story appeared, Conrad Baker Jr. has pleaded guilty to arson and is still under investigation for check cashing fraud.) 

Reprinted by permission of Kim Sullivan and the Springfield News