Police Identify Body as Danielle Van Dam's
Thursday, February 28, 2002
EL CAJON, Calif. — An autopsy confirmed Thursday that the body of a child found dumped near a grove of trees outside San Diego is that of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst said.
Van Dam was allegedly abducted from her San Diego home nearly a month ago.
Based upon a comparison between the missing girl's dental records and X-rays taken from the body, "the identification of Danielle van Dam was made certain," Pfingst said.
The cause of death could not immediately be determined because of the body's state of decomposition, he said.
Police Chief David Bejarano informed Danielle's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam, of the confirmation shortly before it was announced publicly, Pfingst said.
The district attorney thanked the volunteers who helped find the body Wednesday in a remote area east of San Diego, as well as the many volunteers who also assisted in the exhaustive search effort which began after Danielle was reported missing on Feb. 2.
"It has been one of the most extraordinary things I have seen in my years of law enforcement," he said. "The result of that search was to find this little girl's body and return it to the family and to help the criminal investigation."
A neighbor, David Westerfield, 50, is charged 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 about 20 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 from the road under a cluster of oak trees.
Westerfield, a twice-divorced father of two grown children, has a 1996 drunken-driving conviction but no violent criminal history.
He has said he was at the same bar where Brenda van Dam was spending time with friends the night Danielle disappeared. Van Dam's husband was home with their daughter and two sons.
The van Dams' neighbors hoped for an end to what has been 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."
Damon and Brenda van Dam on Thursday thanked volunteers whose unflagging efforts helped locate what authorities believe is the body of their daughter. They left a real estate office that served as a base of the searches without speaking to reporters.
"Brenda said today that love conquers evil," said the Rev. Joseph Acton, who has been counseling the van Dams. He described the couple as devastated.