BEAUFORT, S.C. — The search for a missing Sumter mother and son has grown into a multi-agency investigation as of Sept. 1.
Sophia Van Dam, 20, and her 2-year-old son Matteo were reported missing from their Wilson Street home in Sumter, South Carolina, in June 2023 after not making contact with other family members. At that time, Sumter Police officers searched the area around Van Dam's home after her car was found next to her home, but no one was found in the home or vehicle.
Police did not provide details regarding the investigation because the case is ongoing. Sumter Police, however, have been joined by Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the search for the mother and son.
Van Dam was originally from the Beaufort area.
The multi-agency search will be active in multiple locations throughout Beaufort County on Friday, Sept. 1, pursuing numerous approaches in this case. Anyone with information about their disappearance is asked to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously 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