NM NM - David Miera, 2, Dixon, 10 Jan 1970

[TryingtoHeal]

My husband and I have talked about David's story. Out initial thought was that David is no longer with us. However, there is one thing that makes us step back from that initial assessment. Zerfas doesn't seem like the organized, conscientious type. The fact that all of David's stuff was missing tends to corroborate Zerfas' tale that David was given to someone else and that THEY were conscientious enough to go get all David's stuff. After being foster parents for over 12 years we understand that if you take a child you would really want to get all of the "stuff" for that child you can. This would be especially true of a couple in a bus with limited resources.

One likely scenario is that the couple witnessed the abuse and said that either they were going to take David or they were going to call the police.

If David was half Hispanic and he was given to someone who was Nordic/Caucasian, it would be very obvious to David at some point in his life that they were not his biological parents. It would have been a pretty big deal back then. The difficulty would be that there are not any readily available resources that "we" are aware of to search through adoption proceedings for that time period. Perhaps someone else could point you that direction.

If they were from an affluent east coast family, it would have been a bit of a scandal for the kids to come back to their families in an educated white society with a bi-racial child.

 

[Wanting2Help]

Have you tried registering your/family DNA with ancestry.com?

http://dna.ancestry.com/?s_kwcid=family+dna&pdv=c&o_xid=55307&o_lid=55307&o_sch=Search

 

[Marksgirljess]

I am hopeful that this community can help you find your brother.

 

[Medea2]

The simplest explanation is the boy died will in charge of his stepfather and his body was disposed of

But over the years, I have read some cases of children who went from hand to hand wihout papers or official adoption. So I don't think it is so hard to keep a child that is not your own without too much question, especially if you have a transient life style. Maybe he is somewhere out there. I really hope so for the family.

 

[zwiebel]

I just heard of this little boy. Searching on Bob Harrod's behalf, I came across a website listing missing people, and underneath amongst the comments was a post saying 'you can add my brother to that list too.'

It sounded as though the person was newly hurting so much, and so determined, I followed the link there. And found a sister searching for her baby brother who has been missing over 30 years.

Heartbreaking.

David is really an elder brother of course, but I don't think he ever made it beyond babyhood, I'm sorry to say. I wish to heck that neighbour - and every neighbour - had kicked apart every pile of stones they found, up in those hills.

I think there could be two hopes here - Zerfas, being abusive, would like to feel in perfect control of any partner/friend and be unable to admit, even to himself, that he didn't have that control. So he might well have been arrogant enough to confide in one of them about (what I think) he had done to David. Who'd want to come forward now though, and say they'd once been told someone killed a baby and did nothing?

I think the answer to that could be; someone who is asked, and who is entering the Fall of their life. Someone who is sure they won't be punished for coming forward so late, and hears a very personal appeal from a loved one, for answers.

The other hope is that dry conditions and stones might have preserved tiny bones and protected a tiny body from predators, and a tiny body will have been easy to bury deeply. And that, if they are not built upon, trails that human beings followed hundreds of years ago are still walked now. Little David is probably resting off a trail that his father knew, but not too far off it.

I think a new drive to remind or make people aware, and get them searching, might really help. Even a single big, volunteer search could be organized. It would serve three purposes;

A search for baby David
Publicity so hikers and walkers might look more carefully at any bones they see
Publicity that might encourage someone with knowledge to come forward.

Because of the time David disappeared, it is also possible his remains were found many, many years ago, of course. That would just require months of searching of any unidentified remains of babies found before DNA was submitted for David's family, and as remains are generally not retained, there might never be a definitive answer.

 

[Cracka*Jaxx]

We are actually following a lead he provided in the article regarding piled up rocks...so the FBI will be doing another search in the places my dad Zerfas put them. Not super hopeful but very grateful.

I could not locate anyone still in Dixon but have talked to a number of his friends with no leads

I do think that Zerfas murdered and then disposed of little David's body. As cocky and high as he probably was, I wouldn't be surprised if Zerfas buried David fairly close by and didn't make too much of an effort to hide the area. The soil out here is rock hard. If David had been reported missing right away, I have no doubt that a fresh burial site would be spotted. Like the neighbor mentioned, rocks would have been piled on top to hide the location. Or maybe he buried David in a sandy arroyo nearby where it would be easy to dig.

I live in Santa Fe and would be happy to help with any kind of search. Many folks in Northern NM do like like outsiders, so I dare not go there alone- especially to ask questions or snoop around. But if anyone lives in NM and wants to take a drive there, I will go.

 

[shadowdancer]

Bumping for this sweet boy.

 

[Savemecastiel]

Bumping.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for David...it's now been 50 years since he disappeared.

 

[Diane Redfern]

I found this about Zerfas: Leon Grotious Zerfas II (1943-2005) - Find A...
I also checked NamUs and I found some cases that may fit:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
It is devastating to discover that there are so many unidentified children...

 

[John/Jane Doe]

David Joseph Miera – The Charley Project

 

[John/Jane Doe]

1278DMNM - David Joseph Miera

 

[nannymo]

I thought it might be interesting to show both age progressions from The Doe Network & The Charley Project together to compare their pictures.