February 2 is also Groundhog Day. Does that mean Danielle's disappearance is the revenge of Punxsutawney Phil?
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usgirl172591765feb17.storyNo Clues in Case Of Missing Girl
Parents make desperate plea in Calif.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
February 17, 2002
San Diego - More than two weeks after vanishing from her bedroom in an upscale neighborhood, 7-year-old Danielle van Dam is still missing and police say they are not close to an arrest.
Thursday, between appearances on national television shows, Brenda and Damon van Dam met with reporters camped in front of their Sabre Springs home and made another emotional appeal for the return of their daughter.
"It gets harder each day," said Brenda van Dam, her voice breaking. "But I have to keep hope that she's alive and will come home. It's so hard for me to know that someone knows where my daughter is and it's not me. It's killing me."
The family has not seen Danielle since her father put her to bed Feb. 1. She was missing the next morning. Police said they believe she was abducted. The van Dams also have two sons, 5 and 9.
Police have been investigating one of the van Dams' neighbors, David Westerfield, 49, a self-employed engineer, whose home
two doors away was searched Wednesday night for the third time. Westerfield has not been charged.
"We are focusing a lot of resources on this area," Lt. Jim Collins said referring to Westerfield. "Obviously, we wouldn't do this if we thought it was a wild goose chase."
Police have taken a DNA sample from Westerfield. His recreational vehicle - which he drove to the Imperial Valley desert on the day Danielle disappeared - was impounded and examined by forensic experts.
Police said later that Westerfield had cleaned the vehicle before it was seized, and that they have searched the desert for clues without success.
Westerfield, who lives alone, has retained one of the city's top criminal defense attorneys. Watched 24 hours a day by reporters and plainclothes police officers, Westerfield leaves his home only occasionally.
Thursday, Wes Hill, a friend of Westerfield's, came from Utah to show his support.
"I know he's innocent. He's a big puppy dog," Hill said. "He wouldn't hurt anyone. He's especially upset because it involves a child."
Meanwhile, the search for Danielle continues. Hundreds of neighbors have been combing the brushy hillsides.
The van Dams have posted a $25,000 reward for information leading to the girl's return. A bail bondsman has offered $50,000 and a retired telephone company owner $100,000.
There has been widespread media attention. When the case was featured on television's "America's Most Wanted" last weekend, police received tips about numerous "sightings" of the girl, but none panned out. Psychics called to offer their assistance.
Within days of the girl's disappearance,
police had interviewed sex offenders who live in the neighborhood, searched dozens of neighbors' homes and arranged for the van Dams to take a lie-detector test. After the tests, police said the parents are not suspects.
WHICH sex offenders that lived in the neighborhood?
Pedophiles, Sex Offenders, Swingers. The Sabre Springs neighborhood has something for everypon