Daphne Webb's Family Still Looking for Answers a Year After Her Disappearance

One year after 22-month Daphne Webb disappeared in East Oakland, her family is still looking for answers, her maternal grandfather said today.
 
Daphne has never been found and her father, John Webb, who was the only person of interest in her disappearance, committed suicide two months ago.

Related article: Father of Missing Girl Commits Suicide
 
Kevin Davis, the father of Daphne's mother, Kiana Davis-Webb, said today that the one-year anniversary on Thursday of Daphne's disappearance has been hard for all family members but particularly so for his daughter. John Webb, who was 50 when he died on May 2, reported Daphne missing shortly after 11 a.m. on July 10, 2013.

He told police that a stranger had abducted her after he left the girl in a car with his 87-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia, while he went into the Gazza Supermarket at 7838 International Blvd.
 
Oakland police and volunteers conducted numerous searches around the East Bay but never found Daphne. John Webb was briefly arrested on suspicion of child endangerment but he was released two days later when the Alameda County District Attorney's Office declined to file charges against him. Oakland police said today that they've completed their investigation into Daphne's disappearance and have referred the case to the District Attorney's Office.
 
However, District Attorney Nancy O'Malley refused to comment on the case today. Davis said neither Oakland police nor the District Attorney's Office have contacted him and he's only learned about developments in the case from reporters.
 
"I'd like to get a call," he said. Davis added, "It's a hard time and we want some answers. Some closure would be good." Davis said he and his daughter are hoping that Daphne is still alive but are prepared to deal with the possibility that she's dead.
 
"We're prepared one way or the other," he said. Davis said he suspects that Webb was involved in Daphne's disappearance because he didn't participate in any of the searches for her but Webb's death means that the family may never know what happened.
 
"He left us holding the bag," Davis said.
 
A vigil to mark the one-year anniversary of Daphne's death was held outside the Gazza Supermarket on Thursday evening.

—By Bay City News