She Vanished Along With Her Toddler Son After Sending Strange Text Messages To Her Mom
Sophia Van Dam of Beaufort, South Carolina, is remembered as a leader who loved making people laugh and taking charge.
She became pregnant with her son, Matteo, while attending Battery Creek High School and managed to graduate one year early.
Yet, in June 2023, the 20-year-old mom and her son, who was just 2, vanished without a trace. To this day, what exactly happened to them remains a mystery.
Leading up to their disappearance, Sophia and Matteo were living in Sumter, South Carolina, with her 24-year-old boyfriend, Jonas Jerry Washington Jr. She’d moved there in mid-April 2023, and according to neighbors, the mother-son pair kept to themselves.
Sometimes, Sophia would be spotted mowing their lawn; meanwhile, Matteo would be running around outside, one of his favorite pastimes.
There might’ve been more going on behind closed doors, though. Sophia’s relationship with Jonas Jr. had allegedly gotten violent before, and on June 4, 2023, Sophia called her mother, Theresa Van Dam, following some sort of incident.
Sophia claimed that something had transpired between her and Jonas Jr., so she asked if she and Matteo could stay at their Beaufort family home.
Police records reportedly indicate that officers also responded to a domestic call at Sophia’s Sumter residence that same day.
Weeks later, Theresa last saw her daughter and grandson on June 22 at 1:00 a.m. Sophia had reportedly appeared confused, and Theresa wanted to bring her to the hospital.
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Sophia refused to go, and by 3:30 a.m., both she and Matteo were gone. The doors were locked, their belongings were removed, and the home had supposedly been left in disarray.
Theresa last spoke to Sophia on June 24 via text, and again, she had concerns about her daughter’s mental state.
“She had been texting, saying crazy things,” Theresa recalled.
During that conversation, Sophia said she was returning to her Sumter home with Matteo, located two hours north of Beaufort on Wilson Street.
Her sister, Desiree Pevey, tried to get in touch with her, but all calls to Sophia’s phone have gone to voicemail since June 26.
Theresa ultimately asked the police in Sumter to conduct a welfare check, at which point Sophia’s car was discovered parked outside on June 26. Authorities knocked on the door, but no one responded.
Theresa reported Sophia and Matteo missing to Sumter police on June 28. The same day, the Sumter Police Department posted on Facebook, asking the community for help in finding them.
Sophia’s boyfriend, Jonas Jr., was reportedly arrested on June 30. The charges were unrelated to Sophia and Matteo’s case.
It’s now been over a year since the mother-son pair went missing, and there have been few updates in the investigation. Authorities have reported making “some progress,” but further details have not been released.
In July, Sumter police spokesperson Tonyia McGirt stated that investigators haven’t stopped searching. She declined to speculate whether the police think that Sophia and Matteo are still alive.
“I know our agency does not give up. We are continuing to investigate,” Tonyia said.
Despite authorities staying mostly silent about their efforts, Theresa continues holding onto hope.
“I still have hope. I want them found. I want my family brought back to me,” she shared.
Sophia was five foot ten and weighed 185 pounds. Matteo was three feet tall and weighed 25 pounds.
Anyone with information regarding Sophia and Matteo’s whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-888-274-6372.
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