Parents Appeal For Daughter's Return
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 5, 2002
The parents of a missing 7-year-old girl who police believe was abducted appealed for her return Tuesday.
"Please drop her off safe somewhere," Brenda van Dam said on NBC's "Today" show. "Just drop her off and leave and let her come home to us. Our only concern is getting her back. We just want our baby back."
Brenda and Damon van Dam and daughter Danielle (CBS/AP)Danielle van Dam, who has blue eyes and shoulder-length blond hair, was last seen Friday night when her father put her to bed in their suburban home. Her parents said they discovered she was missing Saturday morning when her mother went to wake her up. Investigators say they have no suspects and few leads. "We have no reason to believe she walked away," police spokesman Dave Cohen said. "We would have found her already if that was the case."
Police said Danielle's parents were not considered suspects.
Investigators questioned registered sex offenders in the area, and the FBI was offering assistance but was not actively investigating because there was no evidence Danielle had left California, spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said.
Authorities believe Danielle left her home between 10:30 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday, when her older and younger brother woke up.
The girl's father, Damon van Dam, told investigators he woke up around 1:30 a.m. Saturday to let the dog out and noticed a burglar alarm light was blinking. He discovered a sliding glass door was open and he closed it. He said he did not check Danielle's room at that time.
Brenda van Dam, who came home from a bar around 2:30 a.m. and stayed up for an hour with her husband and friends, said she made sure the children's bedroom doors were closed to keep from disturbing them, but she said she didn't check on them.
The family moved three years ago from Florida to Sabre Springs, about 20 miles north of downtown San Diego. Their quiet neighborhood has immaculate subdivisions and a new elementary school.
Neighbors found it hard to believe a stranger could have seized the girl from her bedroom.
"For the peace of mind of the neighborhood we need to know if this was random," said Gretchen Barnett, a mother of three who lives nearby. "It would put us at ease to know that there's not somebody scoping out the neighborhood looking for the next kid."
"For the peace of mind of the neighborhood we need to know if this was random. It would put us at ease to know that there's not somebody scoping out the neighborhood looking for the next kid."
Gretchen Barnett, neighbor