SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: A 1991 California cold case of a missing 4-year-old girl has been opened once again after the arrest of a former Delaware County pastor who recently confessed to the kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old Broomall girl. David Zandstra, 83, was arrested on Monday, July 24 in Marietta, Georgia for the murder of Gretchen Harrington, who vanished on August 14, 1975, while on her way to bible school in Marple Township, Pennsylvania.
Harrington’s skeletal remains were found on October 14, 1975, at a state park in Edgemont Township. At the time, the coroner classified her death as a homicide, determining she died of blunt impacts to the head. Investigators announced that Zandstra was arrested after they received fresh information from a friend of Harrington, who was not immediately identified to the public. He has been charged with criminal homicide, murder of the first, second, and third degree, kidnapping of a minor, and possessing an instrument of crime. Following Zandstra’s arrest, Fairfield Police Department announced that they have reopened the case of Amanda Nicole Campbell’s disappearance to determine its possible connection to the former pastor, according to Daily Mail.
Who is Amanda 'Nikki' Campbell?
Campbell was only four years old when she was abducted by a stranger and vanished as she was on her way to a friend's house on December 27, 1991. Her bicycle was found abandoned a few blocks away from her home that evening. Following a missing report, an extensive search was launched to locate Campbell but investigators never even found her body. Now, Fairfield Police Department is looking to see if there is a link between Zandstra and Campbell. Authorities have also released an age-progressed photo of what Campbell may look like today.
Campbell's case is highly similar to that of Harrington, who vanished while heading to Bible school in 1975. As per CBS, Zandstra was a pastor at the Fairfield Christian Reformed Church at the time Campbell went missing and was ministered in California, New Jersey, and Texas before 2005. Authorities claimed that DNA from Zandstra is currently being matched to evidence from cases that are still active in Pennsylvania and other places. The sample will be submitted to CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) often used by law enforcement. Authorities say they are concerned that there may have been more victims and urge anyone with information to contact investigators.
'Every parent's worst nightmare'
Following Zandstra’s arrest, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters that the former pastor was "a monster" and "every parent's worst nightmare.""This is a man who is a remorseless child predator who acted as if he was a friend, a neighbor and a man of God, and he killed this poor little girl," Stollsteimer said. He further claimed that after killing the youngster, Zandstra "acted as if he was their family friend, not only during her burial and the period after that but for years." The family of Harrington requested privacy but declared in a statement that they were "extremely hopeful" that the person who took her from them would be held accountable since they claimed it had "forever altered our family" and that they still "miss her every single day.”
