Amanda Nicole Eileen Campbell
Amanda, circa 1991; Age-progression to age 24 (circa 2011); Street where Amanda vanished; Amanda's bicycle
- Missing Since 12/27/1991
- Missing From Fairfield, California
- Classification Non-Family Abduction
- Sex Female
- Race White
- Date of Birth 05/07/1987 (37)
- Age 4 years old
- Height and Weight 3'5, 59 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A pink nylon jacket with the sleeves too short, purple corduroy pants, a dark purple short-sleeved shirt, white sneakers with pink trim, and Santa Claus earrings.
- Associated Vehicle(s) Bicycle (accounted for)
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Amanda's nickname is Nikki. She has facial dimple and light brown moles on her forehead and near her nose, and her ears are pierced. She occasionally develops a rash around her mouth.
Details of Disappearance
Amanda was last seen near her family's residence in Fairfield, California on December 27, 1991. She had been at a friend's house four doors down from her home when left her brother and a friend between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. to ride her bicycle to another friend's house around the corner, eight doors from home. Amanda never arrived and has not been seen again. Her bicycle was found abandoned a few blocks from her home later that evening.
An extensive search of the area failed to locate Amanda. A pair of child-sized blue socks were located in the street, however; it is unknown if they belonged to Amanda. A photograph of the street corner where Amanda disappeared is posted with this case summary, as is a photo of her bicycle.
Dogs tracked her scent from Larchmont Drive to Oliver Road, to the drive-through at a nearby McDonald's restaurant, then east on Travis Boulevard to the westbound Interstate 80 on-ramp. Authorities believe she was pulled into a vehicle, probably at Larchmont Drive and Salisbury Drive.
One possible suspect named in Amanda's disappearance is Timothy Bindner, who was also investigated for possible connection to the disappearance of Ilene Misheloff. He was never charged in any of the case, maintains his innocence and successfully sued Amanda's hometown of Fairfield in 1997 for defamation of character. For many years Bindner was also considered a suspect in the 1988 disappearances of Amber Swartz-Garcia from Pinole, California and Michaela Garecht from Fremont, California.
Bindner approached many of the mothers of missing girls from the East Bay area offering his assistance, including Amber and Michaela's families. Investigators asked Amber's mother to maintain a quasi-friendship with Bindner in hope of learning if he was connected to any of the girls' cases.
She and authorities agreed that Bindner appeared to playing mind games with victims' loved ones and law enforcement. He has been ruled out in Michaela's case, and in 2020, David Misch was charged with her kidnapping and murder. Misch is a suspected serial killer. He is awaiting trial in Michaela's case and in the 1986 double murder of two women.
Curtis Dean Anderson, who was convicted of the 2000 kidnapping and molestation of a young California girl, was also mentioned as a possible suspect in Amanda's case. Investigators searched Anderson's mother's residence in June 2001 for evidence linking him to other missing girls' cases, but nothing was located. In 2009, however, police said they believed Anderson was responsible for Amber Swartz-Garcia's disappearance. He had confessed to Amber's murder a month before he died in prison in 2007.
Police spent eighteen months investigating his statement and couldn't find any evidence to refute it, and they said they were ending the searching for her. Many remain skeptical of Anderson's claims, however, and Amber's body was never found. In 2013, after an online petition campaign, the Pinole Police Department reopened the investigation into her disappearance.
In August 2023, 83-year-old former pastor David Zandstra was named a possible suspect in Amanda's case after he was arrested for the 1975 murder of an eight-year-old girl in Philadelphia, and confessed to the crime. He was a pastor at the Fairfield Christian Reformed Church between 1990 and 2005, and lived just a few minutes away from Amanda's home. In December 2023, authorities announced they had cleared him of involvement in Amanda's case.
Amanda has never been located and no one has been charged in her disappearance. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
- Fairfield Police Department 707-428-7355
Source Information
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Child Protection Education of America
- California Attorney General's Office
- Operation Lookout
- The Reporter
- The North County Times
- The San Francisco Chronicle
- ABC News
- Stalemate: a Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder by John Philpin
- Missing-Persons.org
- The San Jose Mercury News
- CBS San Francisco
- Fox 40
- KCRA 3
- ABC 7 News
Updated 9 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated January 1, 2024; details of disappearance updated.