Few clues to aid search
Police ask farmers to look in barns, shelterbelts
DAN HAUGEN
dhaugen@argusleader.com
February 8, 2006, 2:55 am
After five days of fruitless searching for a missing Sioux Falls woman, police issued grim advice Tuesday for farmers to begin searching barns and shelterbelts.
"Anywhere somebody might be able to hide a person or any other kind of evidence," Police Chief Doug Barthel said at an afternoon press conference.
Darlene VanderGiesen, 42, who is deaf, was last seen leaving work a week ago today. Police found her truck in the parking lot of a Pizza Hut at 26th Street and Sycamore Avenue.
Barthel said he is optimistic investigators will find her alive and well, but he also warned about preparing for the worst-case scenario.
"It just seems like she dropped off the face of the earth, and nobody knows why," said Gene VanderGiesen, Darlene's father.
Co-workers and friends also expressed concern about the woman's uncharacteristic disappearance.
"There is a lot of talk. A lot of people are worried about her well-being right now," said Derric Miller, spokesman for Communication Services for the Deaf in Sioux Falls, where VanderGiesen regularly socializes.
VanderGiesen's employer, JDS Industries, called her parents Friday morning when she did not show up for work for the second day in a row.
Gene VanderGiesen, of Rock Valley, Iowa, said he and his wife, Dee, arrived in Sioux Falls on Friday afternoon and found their daughter's two cats begging for food and attention.
Along with the cats, they found her cell phone and duffel bag, leading them to think she didn't simply leave town without telling others. He said it also didn't appear she packed clothing.
The VanderGiesens notified police, who began searching and found the woman's car Friday evening. Police think VanderGiesen was at the Pizza Hut between 6 and 9 p.m. on Feb. 1.
The department issued a missing person alert Saturday morning and asked anybody who was at the restaurant that evening to call with information. Police spokesman Loren McManus said the volume of calls has "been fairly minimal."
Investigators briefly sought information about a man from Melvin, Iowa, but an alibi showed he was not with VanderGiesen around the time of her disappearance, her father said.
Detectives are interviewing VanderGiesen's friends, co-workers and neighbors and looking for clues in her apartment and truck. They asked her parents Tuesday to return the vehicle to Sioux Falls police for further inspection.
McManus said the investigation has been complicated because many of VanderGiesen's friends are also hearing-impaired. The department has used sign language translators for some of its interviews.
Barthel said a "tremendous" amount of resources have been placed into finding VanderGiesen. More than 20 officers attended a meeting Tuesday to discuss the latest leads.
"We haven't by any means reached a dead end," Barthel said.
The investigation isn't focused on any certain geographic area, which is why a canine or volunteer search isn't possible now.
Many missing person cases involve children who turn up within a day at friends' houses. Others come with circumstances that suggest the chance for foul play is remote. It's been several years since the city has had a suspicious disappearance like this one, Barthel said.
"It's not your ordinary missing person case," Barthel said. "Just because of the way she disappeared, it certainly has caused us concern."
VanderGiesen was raised in Rock Valley, Iowa, and moved to Sioux Falls in the early 1990s. She works in the warehouse at JDS Industries, packaging orders of trophy parts the company sells.
"She is well-thought-of and well-liked," Sletten said. "She was very outgoing, very friendly to everybody and always had a smile."
VanderGiesen has been a member of the South Dakota Association of the Deaf for 14 years. She also plays on a softball team for a Sioux Falls deaf association.
Gene and Dee VanderGiesen pleaded at a news conference Tuesday for anybody with information to call Sioux Falls police. The detectives division can be reached at 367-7256.
"Now it's starting to look like it's pretty grim," Gene VanderGiesen said. "Every hour goes by and you think, well, tonight or tomorrow, something's going to happen. The waiting weighs so terribly heavy on you."
Reach Dan Haugen at 331-2335.