She is there one day and gone the next. To lose a daughter is unthinkable, but that’s just what happened to a Broward couple back in 1999. As Patrick Fraser tells us on tonight’s Out for Justice, Fort Lauderdale detectives are still trying to find out what happened to Danielle Zacot all those years ago.
WSVN — The last time anyone saw Danielle Zacot alive was February 25th, 1999.
Linda Teicher, Danielle’s aunt: “She was a very beautiful girl, inside and out.”
Today, Danielle would be 40, if she were alive.
Linda Teicher: “She was a very gentle, lovely person and a very trusting girl. Maybe that was her problem, maybe she was too trusting.”
Danielle graduated from college and wanted to be an artist. When she didn’t show up for her job at a jewelry store, her mother started making calls.
Linda Teicher: “My sister became very, very worried and she called the police, and all hell broke loose. That’s the only way I know how to say it. We were just in a panic over it.”
Danielle had disappeared. Her car was found at a nearby Winn-Dixie.
Fort Lauderdale Police Detective DeAnna Greenlaw: “There was one witness who told our detectives that they saw Danielle speaking to a black male and that they did see her get into that person’s car. Detectives have not been able to positively identify who that black male was.”
Fort Lauderdale Police put up posters and handed out flyers at the Winn-Dixie store, hoping someone saw something. Danielle’s father flew in from France, joining Danielle’s frantic mother.
Gail Zacot: “I can only pray for the best, but I fear the worst.”
But no luck, and no clues about Danielle’s disappearance.
Linda Teicher: “It’s like she disappeared into thin air. She’s never been seen since.”
The only lead: a person of interest named Lucious Boyd. Danielle had met him because she once did brochures for his family’s funeral home.
DeAnna Greenlaw: “The mere fact that the two might have crossed paths because of where they worked and because of Boyd’s family was not enough evidence to say that Lucious Boyd was responsible for the disappearance of Danielle.”
But Boyd remained a person of interest because he was later convicted of raping and murdering a Broward woman. From Paris, Danielle’s father wrote us:
“In 2002 the head detective told us before the trial of Lucious Boyd that this serial killer is responsible for this tragedy and most likely incinerated her.”
But while detectives may have believed that in 2002, proving it is a different matter.
DeAnna Greenlaw: “Our detectives could not put him or connect him to the disappearance of Danielle.”
But odds are Danielle was killed. Odds are, someone knows who did, and Mr. Zacot pleaded with them. He wrote:
“Danielle was our only child… our lives are a daily nightmare as a result of this tragedy.”
The family will never give up, and of course, neither will Fort Lauderdale’s cold case detectives.
DeAnna Greenlaw: “And we hope they, by the coverage with the media and the introduction of this case back to the public, maybe someone will remember her, someone will remember something and they’ll come forward to assist us with this cold case.”
Fifteen years ago, a beautiful young woman disappeared. Maybe a guy on death row knows something. Maybe you know something. If so, Broward Crime Stoppers (954-493-TIPS) would appreciate a call.
And if you have lost a loved one and want to remind people you’re still out for justice, give us a call. With this Out for Justice, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
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