Missing Girl's Neighbor Again Probed

SAN DIEGO - Nearly two weeks after a 7-year-old girl disappeared, police again searched the home of a neighbor they have called a potential suspect in the case.

Detectives, who spent more than five hours at the home of David Westerfield on Wednesday night, carried out several boxes and other items but declined to say if they had uncovered anything important.

Westerfield, who lives two doors down from the van Dam family, has had his home searched several times and has given authorities a DNA sample that was sent to an FBI (news - web sites) crime lab for analysis. Police have also seized the 49-year-old self-employed engineer's motor home.

Danielle van Dam was last seen Feb. 1 when her father put her to bed in the family's home 20 miles north of downtown. No one has been arrested in the case and police said as recently as Tuesday that their case was progressing slowly.

The girl's parents said they would hold a news conference Thursday in front of their home. They have offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to their daughter's safe return.

On Tuesday, investigators used a bloodhound to search the van Dam home, saying they hoped the dog might be able to turn up any clues they had missed in previous searches. They have not said if they found anything.

Marc Klaas, who became an advocate for missing children after his daughter was murdered in 1993, met with the van Dam family Wednesday to "help them deal with this a little bit," he said.

"I can emotionally give them support and tell them what to expect," Klaas told reporters after meeting with Danielle's parents.

Klaas's 12-year-old daughter, Polly, was abducted from her home in Petaluma during a slumber party. Her body was found 65 days later. Richard Allen Davis was later convicted and sentenced to death for the crime.

The following is controversial. Some question the credibility of Roberts. But I did see Roberts being interviewed by Van Susteren--it was a tough interview, and she was not easy to convince. He stood his ground. If this proves untrue, he risks his career, his reputation, and probably everything he ever owned and ever will own, because if this information is false, he'll be sued, big time. So, take this for what it's worth. It's been posted in another, much longer thread--but might be more accessible here.

source

RICK ROBERTS’ SOURCE, HIGH-PLACED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL’ TOLD RICK

The comments of Rick Roberts source (a high placed law enforcement official) are in bold type. Additional information from other sources (press, etc.) are in italics.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that the van Dams were involved in "swinging, lots of wife swapping."
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that before Danielle’s disappearance, the van Dam’s neighbor, David Westerfield "found out about the family’s (van Dam’s) swinging lifestyle and approached them to host an adult party at his house."

David Westerfield has been quoted in the press as saying that he was a friend of the van Dams.

The van Dams have denied this, stating that their only contact with him was when Brenda and Danielle came to his home to sell girl scout cookies, and when they exchanged greeting as they passed by.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that on the night of Danielle’s disappearance, "Brenda van Dam was at a local Poway bar where she was grinding away on the dance floor and possibly ‘did’ a guy in the parking lot."

The bar has been identified in the press as "Dad’s Café and Steak House."

David Westerfield openly admitted that he was at the bar that night. He claims that he danced with Brenda van Dam. Brenda denies this.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said, "Brenda left the bar with 2 girlfriends and 2 guys and went back to the van Dam’s house."
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said, "One timeline given in police records shows Brenda coming home from the bar to find the light [on the alarm] flashing and a door open. [She closed the door]."
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that Brenda "‘gave’ one of the girlfriends to her husband Damon ‘as a present,’ and made sure to shut the doors on all the bedrooms so the kids wouldn’t be awakened by loud lovemaking. She did not look to see if the kids were in their rooms."
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said, "the adults locked themselves in the van Dam’s garage – they have special inside locks so the kids can’t come in – and started smoking marijuana and ‘fooling around.’ The adults in the garage were Brenda, Damon, 2 girlfriends, and 2 guys from the bar."
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said, "after everyone had sex, Damon noticed the [alarm] light blinking and a door open. They were busy with their adult party, so they never checked on the kids."

According to the Union Trib., David Westerfield left the Sabre Springs neighborhood in his RV on Saturday morning. He went first to a campground at the Silver Strand. There, he paid to stay for two nights. However, he deposited the wrong amount of money in the camp fee deposit box (he paid an amount equal to 4 nights, not 2). Some time after noon, a park ranger came to his RV to give Westerfield a refund. Approximately 20 minutes after being visited by the ranger, Westerfield left the campground and headed to the desert. He is reported to have told police that he left because "he didn't know anybody down there. He decided to go to the desert where his friends were." SDUT 2/8/02

Sometime over the weekend, Westerfield went to the desert (south of Glamis, a mile and a half south of state Route 78) and drove his RV into deep sand. His vehicle was towed by Dan Conklin, a towing service owner, who claimed that Westerfield was in such a hurry to leave after his vehicle was freed that he refused to go back an get something he had left behind. 2/8/02

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that Westerfield, gave police a "half-assed confession."
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that Westerfield "did it."

Westerfield has been repeatedly questioned by police.

His home has been repeatedly searched.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that "Westerfield said, ‘I can take you to her, but I want a lawyer first.’"

The SD Union-Trib reported that Westerfield retained criminal defense attorney Steven Feldman on Thursday, February 7, 2002.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that Police have taken possession of 13 bags of Westerfield’s property, including "tons of kiddie porn."

Police impounded Westerfield’s SUV and RV. While the SUV has been returned to him, the police retain custody of Westerfield’s RV.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that Westerfield "is possibly in heavy duty negotiations with the police right now, as they try to find Danielle."

I just did a little research on the public relations firm the van Dams hired--Hillard-Fleishman:

Revenues for 2000 were up about 40 percent over 1999, taking Fleishman-Hillard past the $300 million mark—one of three agencies to break that barrier last year. While acquisitions made a contribution (Boston technology specialist Lois Paul & Partners being the most notable), organic growth was a healthy 30 percent, indicating—to no one’s surprise—that the firm’s underlying business remains exceptionally healthy. F-H picked up about $90 million in new business from both existing clients and new additions to the roster, including Yahoo, Reebok, Bayer, and a major social marketing initiative from the AARP.

National Reach

Fleishman has 26 offices in the United States—more than any other major agency—and is among the market leaders almost everywhere it operates. It goes without saying that the St. Louis headquarters office is still a powerhouse, with more than 400 employees (including more than 100 in ancillary services such as research and interactive), it serves a client list that includes Nortel, Dell, Wal-Mart, and Emerson Electric and delivers consistently excellent corporate and consumer work. In Washington, the agency’s work for the Office of National Drug Control Policy has made F-H a player in social marketing as well as straight public affairs. The firm’s west coast operations (L.A., San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego) and Midwestern offices (Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis) are regional leaders, and new offices in Boston and Portland are strong. New York has historically been the toughest market for F-H, but the firm has cracked the top 10 in the Big Apple, and is strong in the healthcare and corporate sectors in particular.

source

Looks like they're spending a lot of money for public relations, or is it that they're hoping for a really good book/movie deal?

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