SAN DIEGO -- Law enforcement officials, neighbors and concerned citizens spent a fourth unsuccessful day searching for 7-year-old Danielle van Dam Tuesday.
A neighbor of the van Dam family was questioned after investigators discovered evidence related to the case in his car and home, 10News reported.
Design engineer David Westerfield lives just two houses away from the missing second-grader, San Diego Police Department Lt. Jim Collins said.
Westerfield (pictured, right) was cooperating with investigators who were interrogating him at an undisclosed location. He is one of a number of suspects, 10News reported.
Monday Westerfield had told 10News that police had taken dogs through his home and that he was doing everything he could to help the investigation.
"I was gone all weekend ... I offered to let them look through everything and check it," he said.
Authorities impounded Westerfield's Toyota Forerunner around 2 a.m. after discovering evidence inside related to the girl's disappearance, Collins said. Detectives also searched Westfield's home and removed several items for further examination, Collins said.
Westfield spent Tuesday showing detectives around the East County area where he spent the weekend. By late afternoon, authorities "had no plans to arrest" Westerfield, according to Collins.
Collins stressed that Westerfield has not been charged with any crime in connection with the apparent kidnapping of Danielle van Dam.
Asked if he believed the girl had been killed, Collins said: "We always hold out hope that we are going to find her alive."
He added, however, that statistics show the longer a missing person remains missing, the more grim prospects become for a safe recovery.
Danielle Last Seen Several Days Ago
Danielle's parents told investigators that the last time either of them saw their daughter was when her father, Damon van Dam, put her to bed about 10 p.m. Friday, according to 10News.
His wife told police that when she returned from a night out with friends around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, she noticed a side door open to the residence, but did not think to check on Danielle or the girl's two young brothers.
Westerfield told authorities that he had run across Brenda van Dam and her companions at a Poway bar Friday night.
"They were having a good time, just playing pool with people and joking around," Westerfield said earlier this week, adding that he'd danced with his neighbor before leaving around 10:30 p.m.
Police do not consider the parents suspects in Danielle's disappearance, though no one has been completely ruled out, Collins said earlier.
Danielle's mother, Brenda van Dam, told 10News that she and her husband had taken lie detector tests regarding their version of the weekend's events. She did not say if she knew the results of the tests.
Search Drags On
Officers Tuesday continued to search out the area near the family's home (pictured, right) in the 12000 block of Mountain Pass Road, combing the area with service dogs, a helicopter crew and a sheriff's search-and-rescue team.
Since the search has failed to turn up any sign of the child, detectives have come to believe that the youngster's disappearance is likely a case of kidnapping, San Diego police information officer Dave Cohen said.
"We're definitely treating this as an abduction," he said. "If she'd wandered off, we would have found her."
The SDPD has put dozens of detectives on the case and is getting additional help from the sheriff's department and the FBI.
Police officials asked anyone with information on Danielle's whereabouts to call
(619) 531-2000 or visit
daniellemissing.tripod.com. The family also has set up a hot line for tips at
(888) 664-6664.
The missing girl is 4 feet tall, weighs 58 pounds, and has blue eyes and blond hair. She was wearing blue pajamas with a flower pattern before she disappeared.
Flanked by his wife and several friends, the girl's father made an emotional public statement Monday in front of their home.
"I'm pleading with anyone who's seen Danielle or knows where she is to let us know so we can have her home again," Damon van Dam said, his voice breaking. "Thank you everyone who's helped so far."
Neighbors, meanwhile, rallied behind Danielle's family and the intensive law enforcement effort to locate the child.
The show of solidarity included ribbons -- in pink and purple, Danielle's favorite colors -- tied on trees and signposts in the quiet residential area, and a sidewalk journal for handwritten messages of support.
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