‘Will she be found alive?’ Search for Beaufort mom and son nears 3 weeks with no answers
It will be 3 weeks on Sunday since Sophia Van Dam and her 2-year-old son Matteo were last heard from in Beaufort before reportedly returning to Sumter, where they had recently moved.
Did they disappear on their own? Were they victims of a crime? Are they alive?
These are questions family members have in the wake of the disappearance of the 20 year-old mother and her son. But they are not getting many answers from police at this point.
“Two weeks into an investigation, almost 3 weeks, you have to have an idea,” said Desiree Pevey, Van Dam’s sister. “Will she be found alive or are they going to be found dead?”
If authorities have ideas about where Van Dam and her son are, they’re not saying.
“We just can’t discuss our methods of what we’re doing and how,” said Tonyia M. McGirt, a public information officer for the Sumter Police Department. “By no means have we forgotten about it.”
Family members, growing increasingly worried about the welfare of Sophia and Matteo, remain frustrated by the lack of information they say they are getting from investigators. Pevey says her mother, Theresa Van Dam, keeps calling authorities and asking for information.
“Our minds are running wild right now,” Pevey said. “They say no news is good news but at this point I’m not sure if I believe that.”
The last communication anybody received from Van Dam came June 24. Theresa Van Dam last saw her daughter on June 21. She had been visiting family in Beaufort and was reportedly planning to drive to Sumter, where she had recently moved to with her boyfriend. The community is 125 miles north of Beaufort. Theresa Van Dam reported her daughter missing to Sumter police on June 28.
Sumter police located her car at her Sumter residence and later conducted a search of the neighborhood. Sumter police are leading the investigation with assistance from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators say they continue to hunt for mother and son even if they can’t say much about the case.
A Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office investigator in Beaufort has been assigned to the case and is running down lose ends and assisting Sumter police, said Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
“I don’t want anybody to believe she’s missing and we’re not looking for them,” Viens said. “We are looking very diligently for them. I just cant give out any details about it.”
IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION
Contact Lt. Angie Crumpton with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office at 843-255-3409 or the Sumter Police Department at 803-436-2700.
This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 12:04 PM.
