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American Morning

New Developments in Case of Missing California Girl

Aired February 13, 2002 - 07:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are some new developments in the case of a missing California girl that have nothing to do with the search. Or do they?

Her parents are being questioned about their private lives. Seven-year-old Daniel van Dam disappeared nearly two weeks ago from the bedroom of her home in San Diego, California. And her parents have gone on television numerous times to plead for Danielle's safe return.

Now, there are reports about Brenda and Damon van Dam's alleged alternative lifestyle.

Monday night Larry King asked them to respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, ANCHOR: In an article in "Newsweek" magazine, there is word that Brenda -- this is what it was -- "that Brenda and Damon van Dam may have been swingers fond of spouse swapping. That had been percolating around Internet chat rooms and spilling into local pres throughout the week. By Friday, public discussions of the rumors started drowning out the parents' pleas for help."

You want to comment on that, Damon?

DAMON VAN DAM: We want to, we want to keep the focus on Danielle. We don't want to comment on that. We just want people to keep looking for Danielle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAFFERTY: The question, of course, is could all the attention hurt the investigation into Danielle's disappearance or perhaps could it be relevant?

Joining us from San Francisco is Mark Klaas. His daughter Polly was abducted and murdered in 1993 and as a result of that he has formed the Klaaskids Foundation, which deals with missing children.

Good morning, sir. Nice to have you with us.

MARK KLAAS, PRESIDENT, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Thank you, sir. It's nice to be here. CAFFERTY: How relevant, in your opinion, is the scrutiny that the van Dam's private lives are getting in conjunction with the disappearance of their daughter?

KLAAS: Well, I think that the law enforcement should be asked about that. You know, as long as they're telling absolutely everything to the police and the police are satisfied with the answers and they feel that they're moving in the right direction, then I don't know that it's necessarily relevant to the case.

I think that really they have to be the, they have to make the final decision on that, law enforcement does.

CAFFERTY: Even though it's been suggested, and I'll read you something in a moment from an article that was in the "San Diego Union Tribune" newspaper, it's been suggested that if there was an aggressive pursuit of some sort of alternative lifestyle, it could be construed as being a factor in perhaps putting kids at risk by having unknown folks into the home, etc.

Your thoughts on the case as you know it thus far and the way you think the van Dam's have responded to the disappearance of this child.

KLAAS: Well, I think that they have responded appropriately in the sense that they are making the pleas. They're obviously distraught over what's happened to their little girl. They've cooperated with law enforcement. They have done the polygraph exams. I, you know, without ever having spoken to them, and I will be meeting with them later this afternoon, I am a little loathe to start criticizing their lifestyle. But I can see how bringing different people into your home that maybe your kids don't know could ultimately be a threat.

I think time will have to tell and certainly -- I'll tell you what I think. I really believe law enforcement is on the right track here. I don't think that this was really anything from outside the neighborhood. I truly believe that the answer to this crime probably lies very close to where they live.

CAFFERTY: What, based on your experience and knowledge of cases like this, including the unfortunate death of your own child, what's likely to have been, what's likely to have been the answer to this mystery?

KLAAS: Well, who -- I believe that whoever committed this crime knows the area, knows the layout of the homes, knows where that little girl sleeps, knows, in fact, that that little girl was a very sound sleeper. And I believe that if a stranger, the stereotypical stranger were to have committed this crime, that individual would have had to case the joint for quite some period of time. And if, in fact, that were the case, that person would have been noticed by somebody within the neighborhood.

Nobody seems to have come forth with any such information therefore I conclude that it's probably from somewhere within the neighborhood and somebody who did have some kind of contact with the family, either close contact or peripheral contact.

CAFFERTY: What are the circumstances surrounding your meeting with the family today?

KLAAS: Well, they've invited me to come down. They're very concerned that the attention is drifting away from what has to be the main focus, which is finding their daughter, and drifting into other areas such as the areas that we're talking about. And I guess they're looking for some counsel and they're looking for support. And I certainly have to support their efforts because I understand all too well the pain and agony of having your child missing and knowing that there's very little you can do to recover her.

CAFFERTY: Let me read this paragraph to you out of the "San Diego Union Tribune." It was a piece that was in the paper last week. An outspoken critic of the van Dams is a fellow named Douglas Pierce, according to this article. He runs something called The Millennium Children's Fund, a non-profit advocacy group for abused children.

He said he was disturbed by what he saw during his eight hours in the van Dam home on Wednesday. He said that the van Dams and several of their advisers were planning what the parents would say, how they looked on television and the newspapers, that they were rehearsing, talking about their makeup, how they would appear on camera. He said they ran through repeated rehearsals before facing the news media and he also mentioned a couple of entries that he was shown in Danielle's diary that read, "daddy, please forgive me," and "daddy, please love me. Danielle."

KLAAS: OK.

CAFFERTY: What's your impression of those two points, the fact that apparently the media situation was being micro managed and carefully rehearsed and then those diary entries, which might be a sign of some sort of conflict?

KLAAS: You know, those diary entries could be absolutely anything. Everything is open to interpretation. I would be very critical of this individual who wormed his way into their home and started making these kinds of accusations. First of all, I've been in this field for many years now and I've never heard of the Children's Millennium Fund. I've never known of them to come forward and offer a reward.

It seems to me this guy traded in absolutely nothing for 15 minutes of fame. If he had concerns about this family, he shouldn't have run to the "San Diego Union Tribune." He should have made very careful and quiet inquiries with law enforcement.

This is just grandstanding of absolutely the worst kind and it's taking advantage of a little girl's disappearance to promote your own agenda. And I think this individual should be dismissed and anybody in the future who finds himself in a similar situation should not let this man come within a million miles of their home.

CAFFERTY: All right, Mr. Klaas, I appreciate your candid thoughts on the situation.

I want to put up a phone number for our viewers because there is a little girl who is still missing.

KLAAS: Yes.

CAFFERTY: That number is 1-800-THE-LOST. That's 1-800-THE-LOST or you can dial 1-619-531-2000.

And I would look forward, Mr. Klaas, in perhaps talking with you in the future after you've had a chance to meet with the family and as this story continues to unfold. Perhaps we can have you back on at a future time.

KLAAS: Yes, sir.

CAFFERTY: Thank you very much.

KLAAS: Sure.

CAFFERTY: Mark Klaas of the Klaaskids Foundation joining us this morning from California.

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