KETTERING, Ohio -- Thursday is the nine-year anniversary of when 9-year-old Erica Baker disappeared a couple of blocks from her Kettering home, and was never seen again.

Baker was last seen walking her dog in a park behind the Kettering Recreation Center, which is located off Stroop Road and Dorothy Lane.

Baker’s parents have spent nine years searching for her and waiting for answers.

News Center 7’s Mike Campbell spoke with Baker’s father, Greg, on Thursday morning, and he said life goes on, but he will never go on without the answers and the outcome he needs.

Greg Baker said, “She’s dead and gone and buried, but we need to find her and give her a final resting place.”

Erica Baker disappeared on February 7, 1999, and within hours an all-out search was under way in the park as people were on horseback and on foot looking for her.

Police in Kettering even had the large pond near the recreation center drained. Detectives eventually concluded that Erica Baker had been struck and killed by a van.

Investigators believe Christian Gabriel drove the van that struck Erica Baker, but he was not charged with manslaughter or homicide. He is serving time for gross abuse of a corpse and tempering with evidence. They also believe there were other people in that van though Gabriel remains the only person ever charged in connection with her death.

Greg Baker wants to keep the heat on Gabriel to finally bring his daughter back to his family. He said, “We’re not going away, and we are going to keep digging.”

Greg Baker also expressed thanks from he and Erica's mother, Missy Baker, to the Dayton area community. he says people here gave a hundred adn twenty percent to help the family find Erica and it keeps them going in their search to find Erica's remains and give her a proper funeral and final resting place.