‘It Isn’t Over Yet’:SDPD Chief Bejarano talks about latest developments in van Dam Case

Newsweek-Website ^ | March 1, 2002 | NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE

[FryingPan101]

Oh, please. Unless you've lost a child, you don't know anything. This is about the baby, not them. Stop being so cruel. I'm out of here.

[concerned about politics]

I wouldn't be suprised to find out this guy had parential permission to be with the girl. The lifestyle (and maybe price) was right. Why not? They were apparently as liberal as it gets.

[lady lawyer]

I have a similar reaction to the Van Dams. I look at people who have such a cynical, amoral attitude toward marriage and family, and who carry on drug fueled orgies in their home while their child is being snatched, and wonder if they can even have normal feelings toward their children.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Of course child porn is a factor in many stranger child abductions. They are just taking the porn one step further. Stranger child abductions don't kidnap children because they love their scintillating conversation.

[MizSterious]

I know a lot of people defended Mrs. Smith too. Hindsight revealed a different Mrs. Smith than the one she presented to the media. Yes, this is about a little girl who should not have been treated as she was. But it continues to be about two little boys who are still (as far as I know) in that household.

[Uni-Poster]

Mrs Poster has been pounding this story since the get go. She has found some interesting stuff about the swinging lifestyle and about how sick these people can be. One piece that was interesting was how some couples will bring their young daughters into the mix to gain favor with the leaders of the groups and move up on the list.

IF they are into the swinging lifestyle, then this very well may have led to this tragic end. If that is true, then someone needs to look at their other 2 children and do something, because this lifestyle does not seem condusive to parenting.

[GSWarrior]

Forgive me, but what does this supposedly mean?

Apparently TravisMcGee seems to think that God killed this girl because of the parents alleged swinging lifestyle. What else could he mean by that senseless statement?

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

I wouldn't be suprised to find out this guy had parential permission to be with the girl. The lifestyle (and maybe price) was right. Why not? They were apparently as liberal as it gets.

I've had the same thoughts. If true, could this information play into the rumored plea bargain?

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Autopsy confirms body found by road is that of missing 7-year-old San Diego girl -AP Breaking News
SETH HETTENA, Associated Press Writer
(03-01) 09:03 PST SAN DIEGO (AP) -- For weeks Danielle van Dam's parents kept hoping as volunteers combed canyons and desert, looking for the 7-year-old who disappeared from her bedroom. The hopes and the hunt are over now: An autops...

[Jaded]

Douglas Pierce tried to get CPS to look at the other kids, he was of course demonized because of it.

One would think that DW would want the truth to get out if there were other people involved.

[shadowman99]

Dittos.

Not everything is a conspiracy. I've followed this story and haven't heard a thing that would make me think the parents played a role in this.

These people don't act like the Yates. They act like people who have been through the emotional ringer and might deserve an inch or two of slack.

The ungrounded venom in some of these posts is the kind of kneejerk blind emotional reaction I expect from the left. Maybe some of you should head over to Democatic Underground.

[Demidog]

You are a vile dispicable person. You are accusing these people of things which have only surfaced as the result of rumor and have no basis in fact.

[meadsjn]

why Westerfield waited until 9:30 the next morning to leave for the desert>

Maybe because that's when he had planned to leave. Other articles have said he took the motor home out almost every weekend.

It's more than just a little possible that "someone" used his motor home to stash the body, knowing he would be pulling out the next morning. They may have even watched him loading/prepping the RV on Friday evening, like lots of folks do.

You're right, something smells here. Initial reports of material removed from DW's house revealed that there was some porn, but no child porn. Now they seem to be pushing the description to tighten up their case.

My bets would be on the VD couple.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"There's Brenda, rubbing onion oil into her eyes and grimacing the way her acting coaches told her. "

Sheeesh. And I thought I was cynical.

[Uni-Poster]

As sick as it sounds, maybe he would not want the truth out if he were protecting someone.

[FresnoDA]

Danielle's parents thank police

March 1, 2002

SAN DIEGO – The parents of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, whose body was found by a roadside nearly a month after she vanished from her room, expressed gratitude to police and searchers and said they now are seeking a sense of closure.

In a statement released late Thursday, Brenda and Damon van Dam said "we are experiencing the depths of sadness, loss and grief which only parents who have lost children under similar circumstances can fully comprehend."

A volunteer search team discovered Danielle's body Wednesday off a winding, two-lane road about 25 miles east of San Diego, and less than 20 miles from the van Dam's home in north San Diego.

During an autopsy Thursday, dental comparisons confirmed the body is that of Danielle.

The cause or time of death could not immediately be determined, and authorities said there was a chance they may never know due the body's state of decomposition. They also did not say whether the girl had been sexually assaulted. Further examinations were under way.

Police Chief David Bejarano informed the van Dams of the confirmation shortly before it was announced publicly Thursday afternoon.

In their statement, the couple expressed thanks to law enforcement officers and to the more than 2,500 volunteers who assisted in the search, which began after Danielle was discovered missing on the morning of Feb. 2.

"There is not a more anxious feeling for parents than to not know where our children are," the couple said. "Even though the final outcome is horrible, we could not have imagined the rest of our lives without this closure."

The van Dams said they desperately miss their "very special, beautiful, loving little girl" and are finding comfort "in knowing that she is now safe again and at peace."

Danielle disappeared after her father put her to bed the evening of Feb. 1. A neighbor, David Westerfield, 50, was charged Tuesday with murder, kidnapping and possession of child pornography. He has pleaded innocent and is being held without bond.

Authorities said they found traces of Danielle's blood in Westerfield's motor home and on an article of his clothing.

The self-employed engineer spent the weekend of Danielle's disappearance traveling around San Diego County in his motor home, stopping in the desert east of the city.

A hunch led volunteers to the area where Danielle's body was found about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. The remote road was one Westerfield might have taken the weekend Danielle disappeared, said Bill Garcia, a private detective who coordinated searches in the area.

"Someone who would try to evade or stay low-key would have picked that route," Garcia said.

Volunteers first checked the site Saturday but found nothing. Ten volunteers returned to the site Wednesday after investigators decided the area needed to be checked again. Searchers found the body about 25 feet off the road under a cluster of oak trees across from a sand mine.

Both the police chief and San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst thanked the volunteers whose unflagging efforts helped find Danielle's body. Searchers covered a vast search area that stretched from the ocean to the desert.

"It has been one of the most extraordinary things I have seen in my years of law enforcement," Pfingst said. "They found that needle in a haystack."

The van Dams' neighbors hoped for an end to what has been an emotional ordeal for the community.

"As unlikely as it was, everybody was still harboring some hope that she was still alive," said Jane Hurst, who lives near the van Dams. "Now that's gone, and at least we can start dealing with that."

A memorial to Danielle was posted Thursday morning on a Web site dedicated to her recovery. A message on the site quoted singer Sarah McLachlan: "You're in the arms of the angel. May you find some comfort there."

---

"There is not a more anxious feeling for parents than to not know where our children are," the couple said. "Even though the final outcome is horrible, we could not have imagined the rest of our lives without this closure."

Huh....Time to move on????

The van Dams said they desperately miss their "very special, beautiful, loving little girl" and are finding comfort "in knowing that she is now safe again and at peace."

Save Again????   Really,  hhhmmmmm......

[I_Love_My_Husband]

There may be hope for parents yet

As we were praying this morning with the incredible volunteer searchers who actually found our daughter, our personal prayer was that God would share our little angel with everyone who helped to find her.

It is mho that they see the error of their lifestyle and go back to G-d.

[Cu Roi]

I wouldn't be suprised to find out this guy had parential permission to be with the girl.

Just as many parents give priests permission to be with their young sons. Look how that turns out sometimes...

[Samizdat]

Medical Examiner Dr. Brian Blackbourne

This is the guy that Starr enlisted to help with his Vince Foster murder coverup. Look for a suicide verdict.