Apparent Remains Of Danielle Found: (11:00 P.M. Update)

Union Trib ^ | February 27, 2002 11:00 P.M. | Jeffrey J. Ros

[FresnoDA]

Apparent remains of Danielle found

'It is a high probability it is her,' police say

By Jeffrey J. Rose
SIGNONSANDIEGO

February 27, 2002

EL CAJON – The remains of a young girl were discovered Wednesday afternoon off Dehesa Road near the Singing Hills golf course by searchers looking for 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, missing from her home for more than three weeks.

"It is a high probability it is her," said Lt. Jim Collins, a San Diego police investigator at the scene.

Forensic investigators photographed the scene, and other evidence collection was expected to continue through the night as lighting equipment and generators were brought in. Authorities said it was likely that the body would not be recovered until Thursday.

The remains were found 25 to 30 feet off the road among a cluster of oak trees in a grassy area, across from a quarry east of the Singing Hills Resort and Country Club.

A group of searchers from the Danielle Recovery Center discovered the body after 2 p.m. and immediately called sheriff's deputies, saying they believed they had discovered the girl, Collins said.

"Obviously we appreciate the effort of the volunteers," he said. "This shows the volunteers are a very vital part of the overall process. They can cover much more area than we can."

Jeff Dusek, the lead prosecutor in the case against David Westerfield, the man accused of kidnapping and murdering Danielle, went to the scene. The primary police homicide unit investigating Danielle's disappearance had been in the desert during the day but traveled to the discovery area.

Authorities closed Dehesa Road for a time, diverting traffic at Willow Glen and Harbison Canyon roads.

Capt. Ron Newman, head of the San Diego police homicide unit, visited Danielle's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam, at their home in Sabre Springs. Later, a priest visited. The parents made no immediate statements.

San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano described the body found as that of a 3- to 4-foot white female with blond hair visible from the back, wearing a plastic necklace similar to that seen in photos of Danielle. One earring was visible, which appeared to be the same type of earring Danielle was reported to be wearing the night of Feb. 1 when she disappeared.

Bejarano, speaking at a downtown news conference Wednesday night, said it likely would be at least 24 hours before a positive identification was made using dental records, and if that wasn't possible an identification using DNA would take three to four days.

No weapons that might have been used in the victim's death were apparent at the scene, Bejarano said.

District Attorney Paul Pfingst, who joined Bejarano at the news conference, said the investigators' preliminary assessment was that the victim had been killed elsewhere and the body dumped at the site.

DAVID HARDMAN / Union-Tribune

Parts of the body were in an advanced state of decomposition, Pfingst said, and earlier reports that the body may have been partly burned likely were in error.

Discovery of what likely is Danielle's body changes the nature of the case against Westerfield, Pfingst said.

"The body is the most fertile source of clues," he said.

The district attorney said the investigation at the scene would take time.

"At this point speed is not an issue," Pfingst said. "We'd rather do it right than do it fast."

Westerfield, 50, a neighbor of the van Dams, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of murder, kidnap and possession of child pornography in connection with Danielle's disappearance. A judge Wednesday morning ordered the search warrants in the case unsealed.

Westerfield, a self-employed engineer, was arrested Friday outside his attorney's office after weeks of being labeled a potential suspect in the case by police. He is being held in the county jail downtown without bond.

[LoneGOPinCT]

You and your wife's habit is what normal parents do. These guys are not like most people I think. From watching them on the TV, I never thought that they killed the girl or had anyone do it, though. I haven't followed this case real closely, so I may be missing relevant info, I don't know. . .

I tend to agree with you that they probably didn't have anything directly to do with her killing, but they "seem" to know more about it than they are letting on. A couple posters here have seen some interviews with the parents and thought something just wasn't right.

Purely speculative of course, but being that they were apparently into some odd sex stuff I wonder if they made some deals while under the influence that may have led to this.

[Neenah]

Something that no one has mentioned ( at least I don't think they have ) is that Diary of the little girls that Mrs. VD brought out on one of the early network news shows.

She held it up and talked about an entry in it. I can be wrong, but I THINK it was one of the last entries. It said (paraphrased) "Please love me, Daddy" and " I am sorry, Daddy". That clicked on the red light for me. Why would a little girl, age SEVEN say a thing like that? I think this was a first interview, and at the time, I was first hearing the story, but I sure remember thinking how ODD that was. This was before I learned of their lifestyle. Does anyone remember that?

[LoneGOPinCT]

I have been wondering about this all along--what kind of a security system has nothing but a flashing light that could go unnoticed or simply ignored?

There is just way too much weird stuff involved in this case. And I don't know anywhere near as much about this case as many folks here do, if I did I'm sure there is much, much more!

[spectre]

"Primary next Tuesday"..

And it wouldn't have a thing to do with the pressure to come up with an arrest, now would it? Oh, Where is Dominick Dunn when we need him? Darn.

sw

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

And it wouldn't have a thing to do with the pressure to come up with an arrest, now would it? Oh, Where is Dominick Dunn when we need him? Darn.

I want to believe that the timing is strictly coincidental, but it is an interesting thing to ponder.

[ecomcon]

Everything is on the table and each of us decide in which chair to sit. Once the reliable details emerge, we may change our minds or settle where we first sat. Only time will disprove or confirm any of the thoughts expressed here.

Thoughts expressed BUMP

[scholar]

Does anyone remember that?

Yes, in fact, I can't forget that. Whether related to this sad case or not, it seems to me to indicate emotional abuse of this child.

[Amore]

Ok, how about this? My brother has a system which, when turned on, does give off an alarm if breeched. However, when the alarm is NOT on, it still has a light for each section of the house. Their alarm might not have been turned on, but it would show if a section of the house was not secure. Perhaps, say, the light for section 7 was flashing, and the sliding glass door was covered by section 7. A flashing light showing for section 7 would tell them that the sliding glass door was ajar.

[fivecatsandadog]

On one of the earlier threads re VDs, wasn't a note found that had been written by Danielle quite some time before all this happened? Something about "please love me daddy". Me thinks, and this is just a theory not an accusation, that perhaps Danielle wrote this note to Dad after she had done something to really p*** him off, an apology of sorts asking for forgiveness or "please don't hate me", because maybe Dad was being vindictive? What had she denied him?

[mommadooo3]

I'm not trying to be 'flippant' but your daughter will be fine. And the relationship will mend between y'all. How can I know that??? Because I have GREAT faith in the Lord's ability to do such things. I'm sure He can and will reveal to your daughter things that she needs to 'know'. (like how much her Momma and Daddy love her.) There have been times in my life where I've thought that He should 'hit me upside the head with a brick' so I could understand things or understand what He was trying to get through my 'dense' head. LOL...HE DID. But it sneaks up soooo quietly and sooo powerfully, that there's NO mistaking that 'brick'. Try it!

He knows and already hears your heart.

[Amore]

You're right, her diary entries haven't been mentioned on this thread, but they've been mentioned a number of times on the other threads. And a number of people, including me, agree with you that the wording is scary, creepy, whatever you want to call it.

[FresnoDA]

Bingo.....that is the million dollar question regarding this case.  Who, how many, how long did any casual visitors have access to the VD house the night/morning of Feb 1/2.  The responses of the VD's, which by the way have varied, has been, a friendly little Pizza Party, to a few friends just dropped by for a short time.  Through all of these events, open doors, mute dogs, blinking alarms, and the elapse of 11 hours of time, child put to bed at 10:00 P.M., discovered missing at 9:00 A.M.

Too many bizarre questions, coincidences and varying answers and explanations.

Brenda mentioned on a net interview last night that the family went to Disney World, Orlando (sneakypete's country) in November.  These folks have high horse powered income, for Damon's position as a contract phone tech/engineer.  $400K home, $40K Excursion, trips to Orlando, trip was planned for Italy a few weeks after Valentines day.

Wow, SDLE may not know which way to turn......

[Snow Bunny]

Thank you Meekie for the ping.

[fivecatsandadog]

agree agree agree

[spectre]

About the security alarm. I called a friend of mine who has a system in her house. She told me that the panel will flash a "red light" indicating which door on her system is open. It will set off no ALARM if the system has not been SET. It's simply a built-in warning light to show which door or windows are open before the alarm is secured. After she punches in the system, any entry would set off the alarm in her home and to the monitoring system, in which case, they call her home before calling the police.

We are taking Damon Van Dam's word that he actually saw the red light on...which in my opinion, was probably on most of the time if they let the dog in and out and wasn't secured for the evening yet. So he didn't check on the children in the house, because it was no big deal for this to take place.

So maybe, no one broke into the house...no sign of forced entry, was there?

sw

[JBCiejka]

Someone once said that the guilty appear nervous until they are caught and the innocent are nervous after be arrested.

[Valpal1]

ru·mor Pronunciation Key (rmr) n.

1.A piece of unverified information of uncertain origin usually spread by word of mouth.
2.Unverified information received from another; hearsay.

I'm not as good at html as you. But I point out once again that all the nasty talk about the parents comes from one alleged unverified source, Rick Robert and his "highly placed LEO". This source is unidentified, all articles (FrontPage, Newsweak) posted on the threads consistently cite RR as their source along with "internet chat rooms".

Not one independant secondary source has surfaced since RR made himself famous with his allegations on Friday, 2-8-02. The news media has been on this like flies on ****, they have not come up with one former player, or even someone claiming to have turned down an invite.

As for Douglas Peirce's claims, Well, why has no media followed up with him. Possibly because he's a kook and a waste of bandwith, someone who tried to insert himself into the drama and got kicked out.

The parents flat or unatural affect - everyone handles grief and despair differently, according to their nature and the happy pills that are generally given.

Did Westerfield "dance" with Brenda? He says yes, She says no, 3rd party verification has not been published. Think the cops don't know whose story is inconsistent? Who did the investigators focus on, on Monday 48 hrs after the disappearance and why?

The evidence so far released seems to show that LEO's got their man. It also appears that the VD's are working closely and cooperatively with LE and that LE was taking time to keep them apprised of events and pending arrest. Not likely if they were under suspicion, and not likely if RR's allegations had held any water.

My guess is that if there turns out to be a second perp, it will be Westerfield's friend "Gary" who was at the bar with him that night.

As for how someone could sneak in a take a child. Well 30-40% of stranger abductions are night time home invasions and they are uniformly fatal, unlike daytime snatches where money is more likely to be a motive.

It's sad, it's scary and it happens all the time, because there are rabid, predatory deviants who live and work among us and are fed by the growing porn industry.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

Yeah, that note story is very bothersome. Why would a little girl feel compelled to write such a thing? There has to be a reason. It seems like it must have been more than just a typical scolding or punishment that she was concerned about.

It's troubling to imagine the possibilities.

[fivecatsandadog]

see post 189

[MeekOneGOP]

Purely speculative of course, but being that they were apparently into some odd sex stuff I wonder if they made some deals while under the influence that may have led to this.

Yeah, I've heard some speculation about that too. I think any of their background will eventually come out as this unfolds. . .