The summer bible camp Harrington was attending took place on the grounds of two nearby churches. The source also said she remembered that a girl in her class was nearly kidnapped twice and wrote in her diary in 1975 that she suspected Zandstra was the likely kidnapper. The source said she told Zandstra's daughter, who replied that her father sometimes did that. She told investigators that, during a sleepover when she was 10, she woke up to Zandstra groping her groin area. In January of this year, investigators said they interviewed a source who was best friends with Zandstra's daughter and who would often sleep over at the family's home. "The abduction and murder of Gretchen has forever altered our family and we miss her every single day."Ī breakthrough in the case came from a witness Even now, when people share their memories of her, the first thing they talk about is how amazing she was and still is.at just 8 years old, she had a lifelong impact on those around her," the family said. She exuded kindness to all and was sweet and gentle. "If you met Gretchen, you were instantly her friend. In a statement, the Harrington family thanked law enforcement officials for their continued work on the case and said they were hopeful that the person responsible for Gretchen's murder would be held accountable. The killing nearly 48 years ago stumped investigators for decades and cast a pall over the small-town community in suburban Philadelphia. Zandstra has been charged with criminal homicide, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, third-degree murder, kidnapping of a minor and possession of an instrument of crime.ĭelaware County District Attorney's Office A newspaper clipping from 1975 describes the search for Gretchen Harrington. "Then he's gonna have to find out what the God he professes to believe in holds for those who are this evil to our children," Stollsteimer added. And he's gonna die in jail," District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said at a press conference on Monday. "We are gonna bring him here to Delaware County. Zandstra admitted to killing Harrington and is currently being held in jail in Cobb County, Ga., according to authorities. The Delaware County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday that it had arrested former pastor David Zandstra, 83, for Harrington's murder. Now, police believe they finally know who killed her. 15, 1975, Gretchen Harrington, 8, left her home in Marple Township, Penn., to walk to summer bible camp and disappeared.Ībout two months later, her skeletal remains were found in nearby Ridley Creek State Park, but the crime went unsolved.
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