tonight on "nightline," missing. a 10-year-old north carolina girl has been missing for three weeks and is feared dead. and her step-mother is a person of interest. today, a strange emergency call surfaces. we bring you the latest on zahra baker. daddy day care? imagine a land where fathers take months off work to care for their infant children, while mom gets back to her career. and it's all normal. tonight, we take you to the utopian land of do it all dads. and, bad ads. this election season has produced campaign ads that are in bad taste, in worst taste. >> we might as well put our welcome sign for illegal aliens. >> and just plain bizarre. tonight, we crown the worst of the worst.

>> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," october 19th, 2010. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and we're going to begin tonight with the hunt for a missing child in north carolina. 10-year-old zahra parker, who at such a young age had already lost of left leg to cancer. was last seen by someone outside her family in september. her step-mother, lisa baker. she faces felony obstruction of justice charges in relation to this case. but that is only one of many complications facing north carolina authorities. tonight, yunji de nies has our report. >> reporter: it began the way these stories sadly so often do. a missing little girl, her smiling face sent in amber alerts and a father's desperate plea for help. >> i just hope i can get my dau daughter back.

i miss her so much. >> reporter: but from the beginning, something different add up. and this husband seemed to implicate his wife. do you think your wife was any way involved in your daughter's disappearance? >> i'm not sure. i'd like to think no. because that's my wife. but -- until they've completed their invest game, i can't honestly say. >> reporter: the couple told police they last saw their daughter asleep in the early hours of saturday morning. the next day at 2:00, baker says his wife panicked. >> i came back to do some work in the yard with one of our pieces of equipment and her mom come running out, telling me she was missing. >> reporter: baker made this 911 call. >> county 911. >> hey, how you doing? >> i'm good. >> i need police. >> reporter: and soon, police began searching the neighborhood. >> how did she get lost?

>> i'm not sure, buddy. >> reporter: they were worried because this is an especially vulnerable little girl. >> she's scared. she has these disabilities. >> reporter: zahra baker survived two bouts of childhood cancer, but lost her left leg and her hearing in the process. this is her back in may, receiving hearing aids from a local charity. >> it sounds better than without them, so i can actually hear more than without my hearing aids. >> reporter: on sunday morning, police arrested zahra's step-mother on more than a dozen unrelated charges. most misdemeanors like writing bad checks and driving on bad tires. investigators called her a person of interest in zahra's disappearance. police appealed to the public for anyone who'd seen zahra in the last month. >> we're running out of time, folks. the longer this thing goes, the

likelihood this outcome will not be positive. >> reporter: and the foot searches stopped. are you saying you don't know where to look? >> we don't have a time frame to put this girl in that house. >> reporter: the family had moved to this house less than three months ago. zahra and her father moved to north carolina from australia two years before that, after he met elisa baker online. though zahra was home schooled, many neighbors said they didn't know a little girl lived there. former neighbors began to talk. >> i think there was more behind closed doors than what anybody knew. >> reporter: do you think she was being abused. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: in what way? >> there was one incident where zahra's step-mother was whooping zahra, and she broke her hand on her prosthetic leg. >> she come out, yell and scream

at her and tell her she was going to whip her if she didn't start walking and learning to run. >> reporter: a family friend says this photograph shows bruising under zahra's eye to the left. she says baker blamed the injury on her step-daughter's clem siness. that explanation was apparently nothing new. >> it is always, she fell down or, she rolled out of bed or she didn't have her leg on right and could about walk right and fell. it's always zahra's fault. >> reporter: search warrants on the family home turned up a $1 million ransom note addressed not to zahra's parents but to her father's boss. police seized the couple's cars. they found possible blood in one and cadaver dogs found the presence of human remains in both. baker admitted to writing that ransom note, and the investigation took a grim turn. >> and the decision to focus this investigation from a missing child or abducted child

will turn into a homicide investigation. >> reporter: investigators are spent days at this work site, where zahra's father, a tree trimmer, had access to heavy equipment. cadaver dogs seemed to hit on a woodchiper, but nothing stuck. throughout it all, adam baker has been here. >> he seems concerned. i don't know how sincere his concern is. >> you don't believe him? >> i don't. >> reporter: zahra's stepmother is charged with felony on just of justice for writing the ransom note. her attorney says she told him she had nothing to do with the disappearance. >> she's scared to death. she's worried if her family is out here and she's still emotional. >> reporter: she said little but her myspace page may be more telling. blaring heavy metal music, she

call s herself miss gothic fair. zahra's picture is there with the caption "the dark child. lol." ♪ amazing grace >> reporter: the community held a vigil for zahra. >> we pay for her spirit. >> reporter: amid the prayers and the candle light, there was a sense of regret. >> i hope this will be the beginning of no one not speaking out when they see a child being hurt. >> reporter: friends defended the extended family, saying several did call social services. >> ill just want everybody here to know that the family, honestly tried. >> baker's son was also in the crowd. >> reporter: you know, there are a lot of allegations of abuse. you want to say anything in your mother's defense? >> you know -- right now is not the appropriate time for that. we need to let the facts come out and go from there. >> reporter: he wouldn't say when he last saw his step-sister. what do you think happened to

zahra? >> no comment on that right now. i don't want to get into specifics. >> reporter: that is what investigators need. police have been back to the baker's home, seizing more evidence. zahra's father looked on, saying little. >> everybody knows more than i do at the moment. >> reporter: and so for yet another night, this little girl is missing. i'm yunji de nies for "nightline" in hickory, north carolina. >> what a tragic story. thanks to yunjidy nie dd dd ddy that report. coming up, a very different kind of family life. dads taking months off work to care for their children. it is also known as the country of sweden. when i use expedia, my friends at work think there's more than one "me." ...because on our trips, i always get there faster. see, expedia lets me mix and match airlines.

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for american couples who both have jobs outside the home, the arrival of a newborn often means that mom takes months off work while dad continues his daily routine. even if the father can get the time off, being the lone dad on the playground can carry a subtle stigma there. but it's hardly the case ever where. tonight, we go to the land of the extended paternity leave. >> i build 50-story skyscrapers, i certainly can put together a [ bleep ] diaper. take it easy, kid. >> reporter: in the u.s., if hollywood is any reflection, macho and mothering just don't mix, as tom selleck found in

"three men and a baby." but does it have to be this way? halfway around the world, in swed sweden. a whole country of men are making full-time fatherhood seem like a dream job. tough and rewarding, with undeniable benefits. >> to see a man with a baby is like the sexiest thing i could imagine. >> reporter: she doesn't have to. meet martin, camilla's husband. it is 7:00 a.m. in stockholm. and while she snoozes, martin is on duty. bott bottle. diaper. play. and chillout duty for his son, charlie. most swedes know him as the rugged police sergeant who won the first ever swedish survivor show. martin is famously macho here in

sweden. when his first two children were born, he took barely any time off at all. but when he got together with camilla, she told him that wouldn't fly. >> well, when we started to talk about having a baby, i was very, very specific and very clear and said that, if we're going to do that, we have to share, because i have such a busy work life and busy career that i can't take the full responsibility for a baby. and martin said, absolutely, sign me up. and he really has been there for day one. >> i have changed my mind about what it's like being home, because before, i thought, hey, you're home with the kids, how hard could it be? it's my job to go to work. but now, i know it's so much tougher being home. you never rest. there is always something to do. and you always have to be on your toes because it's always -- i mean, you can't leave him for ten seconds because he's going

to climb up the furnitures and up the stairs, and, you know, open the ovens or finding the knives. >> reporter: welcome to the utopian land of the do it all dad. sweden. here, the government gives both mom and dad equal parental leave. more fathers, 85%, take more time off when baby arrives here, than anywhere else in the world. swedish men say their bosses expect them to take so-called daddy leave. and it would be frowned upon if they didn't. if i had this baby in sweden, my husband and i could split up to 14 months off of work, jobs guaranteed, at 80% of our salaries, and, get this. dads have to take at least two months or they forfeit the pay. in the u.s., some lucky dads can take a week off, unpaid. but there are no specific guarantees of paid parental leave for either mom or dad.

take a look at this. let's see. one, two, three -- oh, over there, another one. one more. how many is that? i'm losing count. at times in this park, there were more dads than moms. in the middle of the work week. for them, being at home is a badge of honor. >> you have to always be on your guard and it's like -- when do people sleep? when they're home with kids. >> reporter: "news week" recently called it the new macho. arguing, man calvve caves are o. and mr. mom is in. >> where's the extra diapers? >> perfectly normal. >> reporter: but even in california, where governor schwarzenegger once starred in the movie "junior" as a pregnant dad to be. >> everything is normal. except for the fact that the mom is also the dad. >> reporter: and is a state which offers dads six weeks off at partial pay, only 26% of fathers take it.

for american dads who do stay at home, such as comic john la joy, seen here on youtube, there seems to be a need to prove that bringing up baby hasn't compromised their cool. ♪ i'm a stay at home ♪ i'm on paternity dad ♪ i'm a stay at home dad >> reporter: mark klamberg, a lawyer, didn't blink when his wife went back to work. he just went along, literally, minding baby stella in a room steps away from her desk so she could feed her in office hours. we met her early in the morning before a television interview, back on the job, even show stella is only three weeks old. so it's 6:30 a.m. and who is home with stella now? >> my husband is home with her. i married to a modern man, not a dinosaur. >> reporter: still, is this all to be believed? why isn't sweden overrun with

women flocking to marry men who think it's macho to mind the nest? i decided to give mark a quick test. this? >> diaper. >> this. >> baby powder. >> how many times a night? >> twice. >> and how many diapers are you changing? >> 20, 25. >> any chance you can tutor my husband? >> i heard that you have a very modern husband, so, i don't think i have to come. >> reporter: too bad. still, i wondered, how much can american dads learn from the super swedes? >> being a dad, it's not how like american dads are. they missed us. if he hurts himself, he doesn't just go to mom, mom, he actually call out, dad, dad. it's a nice feeling, being that needed. >> reporter: is that enough to move american dads to fight for change? well, there is this. since daddy leave was introduced in sweden in 1995, more swedes are having more children. there is either something in the

water or something truly sexy about all those swedish dads raising a whole generation of manly swedish men. for "nightline," i'm gloria river verve ya in stock holding. >> aww. thannings to gloria for that. and up next, politics. tis the season for campaign amds, and for politicians to show some personality. so, we look at some of this year's least successful offerings. first is the first 4g phone. first is live video chat on the go. so you can be face-to-face even when you can't be. whether you're on 4g, 3g... and of course wi-fi. first lets you stream live video to the web. in 3...2... 1. what will you do first with evo, the first 4g phone? only from sprint. the now network.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran.

>> politics now, and as much as any election year in memory, this year's political races have seen a kind of race to the bottom in the form of paid television advertising. today's campaign ads offer such prime examples of cynical fear mongering and outright falsehood that we decided they deserved formal recognition for that, and for jake tapper, it's all a "sign of the times." >> you've all seen the ads. >> reporter: there's been a lot of talk about campaign ads this career. >> california already has -- >> you think can it be man enough. >> reporter: but sadly, even though seemingly every media known to man has an award and award show, there is nothing to recognize the sheer sleaze that politicians parties and interest groups subject us to every election season. until now. "nightline" is proud to announce the daisy, an award for campaign ads, named for the infamous ad.

our first is for best exploitation of animals. john adler attacks jon runyan in their house race over offshore drilling with a poignant soiled water foul. pat quinn has attacked bilbraydy for offering a bill to mass euthanize stray cats and dogs. >> shame on bilbray by. i'm a republican, but i don't support him. >> reporter: and the daydy sr. best exploitation of an animal goes to joe sestak and his dog belle. the democrat compares the wall street bailout he voted for to cleaning up his dog belle's poop. >> had to clean up the mess left behind by these guys. >> reporter: congratulations, admiral. our next daisy is for best use of a foreign boogeyman. an ad from sharron angle attacks democratic senator harry reid for voting to give tax breaks and social security benefits to illegal immigrants.

but are tax breaks and social security benefits really what you think about when you see these actors? i wonder if any of the same actors were used in this ad from david vitter. >> we might as well put our welcome sign for illegal aliens. >> reporter: that one prompted the local archbishop to reach out to visitor. the democratic national committee uses a stack of chinese money to make it evidence-free charge against the chamber of commerce. >> it's incredible. republicans benefits from secret foreign money. >> but the daisy goes to this ad against nick ray hall. >> proudly chaired the arab americans for obama campaign -- >> wow. congratulations. at first, a lot of us thought the most creative use of a firearm would go to dale peterson. >> let's show alabama we mean business. >> democratic west virginia governor joe manchin's gun is to show his independence.

>> and i'll take dead aim at the cap and trade bill. >> reporter: but seriously, guys, just one gun? for sheer quantity alone, the daisy goes to pamela gorman. you might think the daisy for most bizarre ad of the year would easily go to delaware republican christine o'donnell. >> i'm not a witch. >> reporter: because, after all, it's certainly not considered a good way to introduce your voters of that. but california republican carly fiore rea's ad against her primary challenger -- >> is he what he tells us? or is he what he's become? >> reporter: accusing him of being a wolf in sheep's clothing is so haunting the daisy goes to the famous demon sheep ad. finally the most competitive category. the daisy for the most false ad. unfortunately, this is a 154-way tie. and in the home stretch, we

expect many more lines to come. soon to be broadcast on a tv near you. for "nightline," this is jake tapper in washington. >> and those are the daisies. thanks to jake tapper for that. when we come back, virginia thomas calls anita hill. but first, here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next on "jimmy kimmel live." >> jimmy: thanks, terry. tonight, heidi klum, music from mumford & sons, surprise dancing with the stars eliminee florence henderson, and a crazed chimp smashing windows in kansas city. henderson, and a crazed chimp smashing windows in kansas city. "jimmy kimmel live" is next. meg whitman's hometown newspaper said it best: "meg whitman has demonstrated a loose relationship with the truth" "a poor understanding of government" "pat solutions for problems whose depth and complexity clearly elude her" "she utterly lacks the qualifications to be governor" jerry brown "offers california exactly what it needs" "good ideas, strong principles, a reputation for telling the truth" and the ability to "get things done in sacramento" meg whitman's hometown newspaper and newspapers across the state

have endorsed jerry brown for governor.