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Residents tie ribbons to show support for missing girl
SCOTT MARSHALL
Staff Writer
SABRE SPRINGS ---- Area residents came together Saturday to show support for missing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam and her family by tying ribbons of her favorite colors ---- pink and purple ---- around trees, playground equipment and bleachers at a community park.
Danielle's mother, Brenda van Dam, arrived at the daylong event at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, receiving hugs from adults and children. Van Dam wiped away tears after she tied a purple ribbon around a tree.
Van Dam said she was comforted by the embraces she got from the children.
"It's very, very sweet, and I think it was a little therapeutic for me to get hugs from those little girls," van Dam said as she was leaving the park after less than half an hour there. "It felt good in my heart to have a little girl in my arms."
Danielle was last seen Feb. 1. Police have said her father put her to bed shortly after 10 p.m. Police have said Brenda van Dam returned home with some friends about 2 a.m. on Feb. 2 and shut the doors to her children's bedrooms so noise would not disturb them. But she did not look to see if the children were in their beds, police said.
Blinking lights on the home's security system later alerted the van Dams that two doors were open at their home, but they didn't realize Danielle was missing until shortly before 9 a.m. Feb. 2, police said.
The search for Danielle continued Saturday in the Anza-Borrego Desert, San Diego and Poway. Rewards totaling $185,000 have been offered in the case. Anyone with information can call police at (619) 531-2000 or give anonymous information to Crime Stoppers at (619) 235-TIPS.
Danielle's father, Damon van Dam, and one of his friends from high school are in the desert this weekend recruiting volunteers to help with the search, Brenda van Dam said Friday.
Susan Wintersteen, 36, a van Dam family friend, said she helped organize Saturday's ribbon-tying event at the South Creek Community Park to give children a way to feel involved and to provide adults information about post-traumatic stress and how to talk to their children about Danielle's disappearance.
"We wanted to have something so the kids could come down and show their support for Danielle," Wintersteen said. "It's really important that they get to show support by tying ribbons of Danielle's favorite colors at a park where she played."
Roger Tso, 36, said he thought Saturday's event was helpful for his daughter, one of Danielle's classmates.
"I think for my 7-year-old daughter, especially for her, this is another way she can feel proactive and find it therapeutic," Tso said. "She's constantly reminded, multiple times a day. ... It's good for her to find opportunities to feel like she's helping, not just standing around all the time and listening all the time."
Tso said his family lives in the same neighborhood as the van Dams and that his daughter sits across from Danielle's seat at school.
Ian Lim, 6, also is in Danielle's class at school, his parents said. The Lims tied a purple ribbon around a tree at the park after Ian was fingerprinted at a table staffed by the San Diego Police Department's Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol. Ian said he did not know Danielle well, but he wrote a special message for her on a banner at a different event before Saturday.
"I hope that her guardian angel finds her and helps her," Ian said, reciting what he wrote for Danielle.
Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or
smarshall@nctimes.com.
2/17/02