Disappearance and search efforts
On the afternoon of December 27, 1991, Campbell was riding her bicycle to a friend's house near her own; earlier in the day she had been at another friend's residence with her brother. Campbell never arrived at the home, however, and she has never been seen or heard from since. [1] [5] [6] Later the same night, Campbell's bicycle was found abandoned in front of a gate within blocks of her home. [5] [7] During initial searches, authorities believed that the bicycle was not in it's original position and that Campbell's older brother may have moved it. [8] [9] Authorities also found a child-sized blue sock in the area where Campbell disappeared; it is unknown whether Campbell was wearing the sock at the time of her disappearance. [8]
On Decmber 29, the Federal Bureau of Investigation became involved in search efforts. [10] The following day a motorist reportedly saw a girl matching Campbell's description inside of a Datsun B-210 sedan in East Fairfield, around six miles from where Campbell was last seen. [11] The motorist also noted that it appeared like the girl was "tied up and screaming", although the car was never located after authorities rushed to the location. [4] The Amber Swartz Foundation, formed after the kidnapping of Amber Swartz-Garcia, assisted in search efforts on December 30. [12] On January 1, bloodhounds used by the Centra Costa County Search and Rescue Team that were following Campbell's scent had tracked through a trail near her home but lost scent after around one mile. [9]
Timothy Bindner and further leads
In July 1992, authorities declared that the abduction and rape of a child in the Napa, California area that month may have been connected to Campbell's disappearance; both incidents were traced back to the western side of Fairfield. [13] In December of the same year, authorities conducted a search of 44-year-old Timothy Bindner's home in relation to Campbell's disappearance; Bindner [note 1] was first named as the "main suspect" when he was seen walking out of a ditch in the Fairfield area in January 1992, shortly after Campbell's disappearance. Following the search, Bindner was not arrested or questioned, and Bindner maintained his innocence in the case. [14] [15] Bindner's vehicle was also searched; posters of other kidnapped children including Amber Swartz-Garcia and Michaela Garecht, [15] names of missing children written on the vehicle's inner walls, children's underwear and a small shirt in the rear portions of the van. [15] When Bindner was searched, authorities found a large chunk of stone believed to be taken from a child's gravestone. [15] Following the discovery, Bindner was placed under arrest for the "disruption of children", but was cleared of involvement in the case. Later investigations concluded that the abductions of Swartz-Garcia, Garecht and Campbell may have been related. [16]
In 2001, authorities received a tip that Campbell had been murdered and that her body was hidden in the crawlspace of a home located around one block away from where she had disappeared on Salisbury Drive; a search of the property yielded no evidence. [17] [18] [19] In 2023, authorities named 83-year-old David Zandstra as a person-of-interest in the case. [20] Zandstra was charged that year with the murder of 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington in 1975, [21] [22] which took place in the Broomall, Pennsylvania area. [23] From 1990 to 2005, Zandstra worked as a pastor at the Fairfield Christian Reformed Church, and Campbell disappeared in that timeframe; an address listed where Zandstra resided was only a short distance from where Campbell lived in 1991. In December 2023, Zandstra was cleared of any involvement in Campbell's case, [24] and in January 2025 was acquited of Harrington's murder. [25] [26] As of July 2025, Campbell remains missing, [27] although foul play is likely due to the circumstances involved in her disappearance. [1]
Campbell's disappearance was logged in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as case number #MP5917, [28] and in The Doe Network as case number 4434DFCO. [5] The Doe Network classifies her disappearance as "Endangered Missing". [5]
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