Pictures
of missing Jeanine Sanchez Harms and signs reading
"Where's Jeanine?" dominated the front of the Los Gatos
Police Department as more than 100 friends and family
members marched on Aug. 28 to keep the Campbell native's
spirit and investigation alive.
The date marked two years since Harms, then 42, was
last seen at the Pruneyard Shopping Center in Campbell,
wearing a floral dress and strappy sandals. She was seen
with two white males that evening, Alex Wilson III, 38,
and Maurice Nasmeh, 42. Nasmeh told police he left
Harms' residence in Los Gatos at half past midnight,
leaving Harms asleep on her couch.
"I think some guy killed her; I think she was
abducted," said Harms' aunt, Virginia Montgomery,
shaking her head. "But it would be great if the police
department could find her."
After two years without a trace of his only daughter,
Harms' father, Jesus Sanchez, 77, has also given up hope
of finding his daughter alive, but he waits patiently
for the case to be resolved.
"We're convinced now that she was a victim of
homicide," said Sanchez, who spent most of the evening
broadcasting his daughter's disappearance to the media.
"Our daughter would have never stayed away this long."
Sanchez described his daughter as "vivacious,
generous and kind-hearted" and said that last week's
march was a kind of celebration of his daughter.
"We're giving our daughter this march so that people
can remember her, talk about her and not forget her," he
said.
"She was just such a beautiful, funny, energetic
woman that attracted people, attracted people wherever
she went, especially males," said Campbell resident
Janice Burnham, who had been best friends with Harms
since high school. "She used to come up with stories
every day of her escapades in life that I just miss
hearing so much."
But Georgette Sanchez, 78, says the march was more
than a trip down memory lane--it has also strengthened
the couple's determination to solve their daughter's
case.
"We're not going to give up now, and we're going to
find justice," she says. "That's what keeps us hoping,
because I know we are going to find her."
As retired teachers, the couple lives in Campbell,
where Harms and her two older brothers grew up.
Neither of Harms' brothers could make it to the Aug.
28 march; Jesus said the older son lives in Maryland and
the younger prefers to stay away from the media.
"Everytime we have one of these things I introduce Wade, and it's so hard on him," Jesus said. "Because you end up having to talk about the same things over and over again." Jesus may not have to continue keeping his daughter's
disappearance in the public eye for much longer. Los
Gatos police announced a major break in the case on the
same afternoon as the march.
Police have recovered a rug that disappeared along
with other items from Harms' duplex on the night that
she went missing. The other items still missing include
two blue-and-white-striped loveseat cushions and a
flowered slipcover.
Los Gatos Police Chief Scott Seaman described the rug
as a "very significant breakthrough" and to a crowd of
marchers said, "I will commit to you that we will not
stop until we have the answers, and we will not stop
until we're able to successfully say that we have solved
this. We won't let you down."
Campbell Police Chief David Gullo, who was one of
Harms' elementary and middle school classmates, echoed
Seaman's sentiments and added, "The Campbell Police
Department and the city of Campbell stand ready to do
what we can to assist."
Campbell Mayor Dan Furtado also spoke at the march,
as did Los Gatos Mayor Sandy Decker.
"This is a community nightmare," said Decker. "This
is what a community dreads. There is no one here tonight
who isn't touched by this tragedy."
Decker pleaded for the person who has the "hidden
clue" to come forward and put an end to the search.
Child Quest, a Campbell-based nonprofit organization
that aids in the protection and recovery of missing,
abused and exploited children and at-risk adults, hosted
this year's march. Supervising case investigator Lindsey
Brooks said she was looking for less somber and more
positive ways of remembering Harms.
And if clues in the case continue to come in, Jesus
Sanchez said, another march will not be necessary.
"We are optimistic that this case will be solved. I
don't know if it'll be in weeks or months or whenever,"
he said. "But I hope that we don't have one of these
marches again next year."
Anyone with a tip should call the Los
GatosMonte Sereno Police Department at 408.354.8600
or its 24-hour anonymous tipline at 408.395.1101. |