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POLICE BELIEVE FOUND BODY IS THAT OF DANIELLE VAN DAM
( 02-27-2002 ) - San Diego Police are investigating a report that remains of a young child were found Wednesday in the Dehesa area east of El Cajon.
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A Sheriff's Department official says the remains were found by volunteers who have been searching for 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.
District Attorney Paul Pfingst started a press conference by saying, "We believe Danielle van Dam's body has been found."
Pfingst said preliminary findings at the sight include:
- 3' - 4' young white female with blonde hair
- around her neck is a plastic necklace similar to the one Danielle is wearing is the search flyers
- one visible earring similar to the one Danielle was wearing the night she disappeared
- advanced decomposition is evident in some areas of the body
- the body was apparently dropped off at that location
- no homicide instruments have yet been found at the scene
- no obvious cause of death is currently known
San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano said the family has been notified and that authorities will remain with the family as long as necessary.
The crime scene will take 12 to 18 hours to process and that the earliest identification of the body will be within 24 hours if dental records are used. If that is not possible, DNA processing could take three to four days.
The Sheriff's Department got the report shortly after 2 p.m., sent out its homicide unit and alerted the San Diego Police Department, which also sent detectives.
The corpse was found behind some foliage, near a trail and scattered rocks, off Dehesa Road, between Willow Glen Drive and Sloane Canyon Road.
Police tape has been put up around an area of Dehesa Road, near the Singing Hills Resort at Sycuan and Singing Hills Memorial Park cemetery.
Late Wednesday afternoon, a motor home was brought to the scene, apparently to serve as a base for investigators who will secure the site overnight.
Until further notice, all searches have been postponed.
Authorities say this has been the most extensive search by volunteers in San Diego, if not California history.