IN THE PIPELINE:

My column about Dane Williams two weeks ago generated more response than any other I have written for this newspaper.

As perhaps you read, the 23-year-old local lost his life in San Diego back in January and to date, nobody can say how, why, when or where it happened. Most importantly, nobody can say who did this to Dane, and in turn, to his lovely family.

As I wrote, in my opinion this case is being woefully under-covered by the media, which could help generate new information. Many of you agreed, even challenging the efforts of San Diego law enforcement, and I appreciate the comments. More importantly though, I had the chance to learn more about Dane through some of the heartfelt messages I received, and I thought I would share some of the thoughts with you today.

Michael Elmore wrote, “I’m 58 years old and Dane was a good, good friend to me. Dane was a very young teenager when Val and Jim first moved in. From the ‘get go’ I was nothing but impressed by him. He was never a surly, uncommunicative kid, something we see so often. Any time I ask him for help with anything, he was there. When my car broke down once, it was Dane I called. When I needed help moving something heavy Dane was there. If I struck up a conversation with him in the alley, he looked me in the eye, never behaved as if he was anxious to ‘get away,’ and always expressed interest in me. We did projects together. Worked on cars, motorbikes, surfboards, whatever interested us.

“He had a tremendous sense of humor. Dane had a smile and a kind word for everyone who frequented the alley that separates our homes. He was a great kid. He didn’t do drugs; he was friendly, caring and a major presence in all of our lives. Dane didn’t die because he was drinking. He didn’t die because he was a ‘bad kid.’ He didn’t die because he put himself in a ‘bad neighborhood,’ he died because someone or ones either purposely harmed him or didn’t do anything to help him when some problem occurred.

“To other parents: Be very afraid that a young man like Dane could die in an American city where we assume law and order are imperative. Be afraid that San Diego doesn’t use Dane’s death to send a message to whoever was involved. Be afraid that whomever was involved in this feels relatively safe and secure in the fact that this death was so quickly forgotten and hence another ‘incident’ like this isn’t likely to be rigorously pursued.”

Christian Schrimpf wrote, “Your recent Independent article moved me very much. Though I did not personally know Dane Williams, [we] had mutual friends. I have been concerned about the way that the local PD has treated his case. I have heard that perhaps writing a formal complaint to the San Diego Grand Jury about the SDPD’s lukewarm response may motivate local government agencies to put more energy and resources into Dane’s case. It was just a thought. Below, I have provided a link to their official complaint form:

www.sdcounty. ca.gov/grandjury/forms/ complaint_form.html”

And the focus was not just from locals. This came in from Yvonna Jasinski from back East: “I’m in total agreement with your article. I live in Washington, D.C., obviously nowhere near Huntington Beach, CA, however, the Dane mystery has left its mark on me.

“I first heard about this story randomly while channel surfing in late February and I came across Nancy Grace’s show on this topic. Since then I have not heard or read (until recently, yours) any news/updates on this story.

“It’s frustrating in knowing how little coverage this story has been getting. I can only imagine the anguish the Williams family is experiencing both in losing Dane and the continuous ‘road blocks’ they have been encountering. My thoughts and prayers are with the entire Williams family and friends.”

From Sue Patalano: “All of Valen and Jim’s friends share the frustration of having no answers to Dane’s death. We hope that more accurate reporting by the media will put pressure on the authorities to keep this investigation open.”

And there are many more. Getting back to Michael Elmore for a moment, he’s determined to fight for what’s right in this case, going straight to the San Diego Police Department with his concerns about how things are being handled.

Like many of us, hearing that a cause of death is “undetermined” simply is not acceptable. And so he has pressed.

He’s contacted Lt. Kevin Rooney in San Diego with pointed, sensible questions about the case and has received several responses, including this: “While an ‘undetermined’ manner does not happen very often, it does happen when a doctor can find no physical reason (trauma, illness, organ failure, drugs/alcohol) for a death and cannot provide a medical explanation why a person died. Dane’s death, much less the discovery of his body in an alley far from downtown, without an associating explanation, is excruciating for his parents. We continue to do whatever we can to figure out what happened, and we haven’t forgotten Dane.”

As well, from Rooney: “Not knowing how Dane died is painful (to say the least) for Dane’s family and frustrating for the team, but unless we find someone who was with Dane when he died, we might never know what happened. Since Jan. 29, 2008, the team has done a tremendous amount of work on the case, all of which has been shared with the Williams family. We have done several follow-up interviews in Huntington Beach and nearby cities and have been in regular contact with Dane’s family.”

I myself have not heard back from the lieutenant, but clearly Elmore’s tenacity is getting through.

It’s the kind of energy and effort that I think will make a difference; a noble effort from a family friend who misses his old pal, Dane.

More to follow as things progress.

Anyone with information about Dane Williams can call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS. There is a $10,000 reward.

Does the lack of attention regarding this case concern you?

We want your thoughts. Post at In The Pipeline, www.hbindependent.com/ columns.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 11 books. You can write him at chris@chrisepting.com.