A Beaufort woman missing 4 months turns 21 Saturday. Birthday sparks plea for help
Law enforcement agencies are renewing a call for the public’s assistance in locating a South Carolina mother and son who have now been missing for four months.
The request came Friday, on the eve of Sophia Van Dam’s 21st birthday. Van Dam and Matteo, her 2-year-old son, mysteriously disappeared June 24 and have not been heard from since. But Theresa Van Dam, Sophia’s mother, and law enforcement officials said they are holding out hope.
“We love her and Matteo very much, and we’re waiting to celebrate her birthday in style when she comes home,” her mother, Theresa Van Dam, said in a news release from the FBI in Columbia.
Van Dam was in Beaufort and staying at her parents home when she was last seen. She was planning to return to her residence in Sumter. Her vehicle was found at her Sumter home but there was no sign of Van Dam or Matteo when police checked after being contacted by her family.
The Sumter Police Department, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the FBI continue to work tirelessly to find them, the FBI said.
On Sept. 1, law enforcement agencies announced that they would be conducting “various law enforcement activities” at different locations in Beaufort County in search of Sophia and Matteo.
As part of those efforts, law enforcement agencies searched a property at a residence on Rerock Road in Burton. They would not comment on why they were at that residence.
Tonyia McGirt, a spokesperson with Sumter police, said Friday that no additional details about the investigation would be released at this time.
Van Dam describes her daughter, the youngest of five children, as a leader who loves to take charge of things and likes to make people laugh. Her grandson Matteo, she said, is full of energy, fun, into everything and loves to be outside.
“He just always had a spark in his eye,” she said, later adding that she misses watching him grow. “There’s an empty hole there.”
Investigators hope Van Dam’s milestone 21st birthday will encourage anyone with information about her whereabouts to come forward.
“I still have hope,” Van Dam said. “I want them found. I want my family brought back to me.”
Call in tips
Tips can be called into Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-888-CRIME-SC, online at P3tips.com or by using the P3tips app for Apple or Android. Tipsters may also submit online tips to SLED at tips@sled.sc.gov.
This story was originally published October 20, 2023 at 11:53 AM.
