Scott Seaman is a man of his word. When he took over as the chief of the Los GatosMonte Sereno Police Department, he made a promise to the parents of Jeanine Harms, Jess and Georgette Sanchez. His department would not forget their missing daughter.
And he kept that promise.
Two and a half years after he took the post, and 3 1 Ž 2 years after Harms was reported missing, Seaman and his department made an announcement. Through the combined efforts of the Los GatosMonte Sereno Police Department, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office and other local, state and federal investigators, an arrest had been made.
"When he assumed the office [of chief in 2002], he assured me that they would not rest until they arrested someone," said Sanchez of Seaman in a statement to Los Gatos Weekly-Times' reporter Grant Shellen.
The disappearance of Jeanine Harms did not occur on Seaman's watch--the crime was committed while Larry Todd still held the position of chief. And it would have been easy for Seaman to file away the Harms docket when he took over the post. He didn't.
When Seaman left his position as a San Jose police captain and stepped in as the Los GatosMonte Sereno Police Department's chief of police on July 1, 2002, the Harms case was nearly a year old. Jeanine Harms was reported missing in July of 2001. Despite public pleas for information, little was forthcoming, and the trail drew colder with each passing day.
Few held out much hope for a happy ending to this tragic tale, but everyone hoped to gain enough information to draw closure to at least this chapter of the story.
Seaman could have simply left the file open and waited. But he didn't. He chose to actively pursue the case with all of the resources and personnel available to the Los GatosMonte Sereno Police Department.
On Dec. 16, 2004, that dogged pursuit of the case paid off when Seaman announced the arrest of Maurice Xavier Nasmeh of San Jose on a murder charge.
The Harms story, unfortunately, came to a tragic end. But that it came to an end at all is a credit to Seaman.
"We reached this point by never giving up," said Seaman said in a Dec. 22, 2004, story in the Weekly-Times. "This case has deeply affected every member of our department and everyone who has worked on it. It has uniquely touched our community."
Jess and Georgette Sanchez know that the sad saga is far from over, and Seaman understands all too well that there is much work still to be done. Jeanine's remains have not yet been discovered; there is still evidence to be found and there remain the details of the tragic night of July 27, 2001, to unravel.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Seaman and his department, the investigation continues to move forward. The town made a solid hire when selecting the former San Jose captain as its chief.
