Sheriff’s Office, SLED, FBI, Sumter Police active in Beaufort County last week
From staff reports
Four different law enforcement agencies were active Friday, Sept. 1 in Beaufort County in an effort to locate a woman and her son, who have been missing more than two months.
According to a Friday release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), personnel from the Sumter Police Department, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and the FBI conducted various law enforcement activities throughout Beaufort County in search of Sophia Van Dam, 20, and her son Matteo, 2, who were last seen in June.
According to the release, law enforcement has pursued numerous investigative approaches to locate the pair since June.
Because this case remains an active investigation, according to the release, no other details are being provided at this time, though any questions were referred to the local agencies.
Maj. Angela Viens, BCSO spokesperson, said she had no details she could share “to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
According to media reports, family last heard from Sophia Van Dam on June 24 via text, and her mother, Theresa Van Dam, last saw her June 21. After visiting family in Beaufort, Van Dam had planned to return with her son to Sumter, about 130 miles from Beaufort, where she had moved and was living with her boyfriend, Jonas Jerry Washington, Jr.
Theresa Van Dam reported her daughter missing on June 28. Her car was found by the Sumter police at the rental residence she shared with Washington, but a search of the neighborhood turned up nothing.
Washington was arrested June 30 in Beaufort County after fleeing Sheriff’s deputies at his residence to “assist animal control in checking on some animals that may have had some improper care,” according to Viens at the time. He was charged with Fleeing to Evade Arrest and Trespassing.
Previously out on bond and facing charges for Possession of a Weapon in the Commission of a Violent Crime, Kidnapping, Larceny, and Burglary in connection to a 2021 carjacking attempt in Beaufort County, Washington also faced 2020 charges stemming from a burglary attempt.
It is unclear authorities believe Washington, currently incarcerated in Effingham County, Ga., has any connection to the disappearance of Van Dam and her son.
According to the BCSO, the Sumter Police Department is leading the investigation, while the BCSO is providing any assistance it can.
Anyone with information about their disappearance is asked to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously by phone at 1-888-CRIME-SC, online at P3tips.com or by using the P3tips app for Apple or Android.
Tipsters may also submit online tips to SLED at tips@sled.sc.gov.
