April 9, 2009
Orono resident Jenny Sullivan read about Dan Zamlen in the Sunday newspaper and knew she needed to help search for the missing St. Thomas freshman.
“My daughter is going to college next year, so I thought if she was missing I would want people out there looking,” she said.
Sullivan was one of more than 550 volunteers who scoured St. Paul neighborhoods Monday in search of Zamlen, who turned 19 on Wednesday.
“At St. Thomas, there has always been a culture of helping,” university spokesperson Jim Winterer said.
“I am very proud to know that this kind of response is here,” Winterer said.
Sam Dosch, a friend of Zamlen’s and a fellow Brady Hall resident, helped lead a search group of 50 students Monday morning.
“When I met Dan, he had a big smile on his face,” Dosch said. “He is always cracking jokes. He’s really outgoing. You could walk up to him as a complete stranger and he would start a conversation.”
Zamlen has been involved in his community from the start. He is Tommie Ambassador who played several sports in high school. He was a member of the National Honor Society and an Eagle Scout throughout his years at Virginia High School in Virginia, Minn., minutes away from Eveleth, where his family lives.
Virginia High seniors Joey Leoni and Lance Larson knew Zamlen through Boy Scouts. They drove to St. Thomas after hearing that Zamlen was missing.
“A lot of friends and [Virginia residents] are coming down to help,” Leoni said. “Dan was the student leader [for my troop last year]. He is so funny and nice. We never thought anything like this would happen, not to Dan.
Zamlen, a type-1 diabetic, had been drinking Saturday night before leaving a party and walking toward St. Clair Avenue and Mississippi River Boulevard. Leoni said Zamlen never drank high school.
Chris Ismil, a family friend who coordinated the search, told volunteers Zamlen would be out of insulin and would likely be unconscious if found. He instructed volunteers to search carefully.
Zamlen was involved in a disagreement before he left the party Sunday night, but his friends intended to pick him up after he left, Winterer said.
“It’s very hard to make sense out of [everything] because stories start [to be] told about it,” said Jane Canney, vice president of the Office for Student Affairs. “It’s only normal for rumors to starting floating around.”
Campus Ministry has offered around-the-clock personal counseling for students. The Rev. Erich Rutten of Campus Ministry led a prayer service Monday night as more than 160 Brady Hall residents crowded its basement.
“It showed the brotherhood of Brady,” Dosch said. “The support was great.”
Levi Ismail, a Brady Hall resident who did not know Zamlen personally, attended the prayer service.
“We need to show support in every way we can,” he said. “It was really sad to see Dan’s family in pain but that’s a motivating factor in bringing him home.”
Ismail and his roommate made space in their dorm to those who needed a place to recuperate after searching Sunday and Monday.
“It’s a good cause and an opportunity for us to help out in any way we can,” he said.
The Zamlens are also staying on campus as the investigation continues, Canney said.
“We are trying to have [the family] be as comfortable as possible,” she said. “They are one of the highest priorities for the university right now.”
More than volunteers searched. St. Paul Police, Ramsey County’s Water Patrol Unit and a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter combed the Mississippi River bluffs and bank Sunday and Monday.
A bloodhound from Hennepin County joined the search Monday but did not lead officers to anything extraordinary, Winterer said.
Teachers also helped out by sending e-mails to students asking them to participate in the searches that took place Sunday and Monday.
“My Art History professor, Craig Eliason, canceled class on Monday so that students could volunteer in the search efforts,” Ismail said. “My football coach also e-mailed the team saying, ‘We need all the help you can give.’ I think [the support] is amazing.”
After the last group of 150 volunteers returned late Monday from Town and Country Club just north of St. Thomas campus, Ismil spoke to students.
“We’ve searched everywhere more than once with no new clues,” he said. “We are still very hopeful. What you can do right now is to go to the UST Cares Web site and tell your friends to do the same.”
When Monday’s search ended, Ismil kept spirits high as many volunteers journeyed home. Ismil, however, continued to work well into the night.
The investigation was transferred Tuesday to the police missing persons unit.
“Our neighborhood search efforts have ended, and the goal of completing a 2-mile radius was met,” Winterer said. “Now we will continue to work with law enforcement to uncover new leads.”
Although volunteer search efforts were completed Monday, Zamlen’s friends continue to search.
“We went to local businesses outside the neighborhood and posted flyers to get the word out,” Dosch said. “As close friends, we just have to keep doing everything we can to show our support and bring Dan back.”
Dan’s father, Dale Zamlen, said he and his family are grateful for the support they have received, but he also expressed the need to continue with the search.
“Everyone is doing the best they can,” he said. “My gut says to just keep looking, to keep knocking on doors. My son deserves that.”
At the Minnesota Wild hockey game Tuesday night, news of Zamlen's disappearance was announced to 18,000 fans as his photo flashed on the Xcel Energy Center’s scoreboard.
Volunteers were asked to continue search efforts on Wednesday. The focus was on the Mississippi River bank and neighborhood near the river. Volunteers worked with St. Paul police going door to door and asking homeowners for permission to look anywhere Zamlen might have sought shelter.
Anyone with information should call St. Paul Police at 651-291-1111 or St. Thomas Public Safety at 651-962-5555
