Father Of 'Speed Freak' Victim Wants All Of Daughter's Remains Returned

FRENCH CAMP (CBS13) - The father of one of the victims of the "Speed Freak Killers" talked about the handling of his daughter's remains for the first time in an interview with CBS13.

Part of Cyndi Vanderheiden's remains were recovered from a hill in Calaveras County back in February, but detectives never gathered all of her remains and John Vanderheiden wants the rest of his daughter back.

"I wanted to know why they stopped digging," he said. "And they said that's all they can do and that they weren't going to dig anymore."

John Vanderheiden didn't like what he said the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department told him in February, that the search to find the remains of his daughter Cyndi was over.

"They should go get the rest of my daughter," he said.

The sheriff's office is already under scrutiny for the handling of Jo Ann Hobson's remains found in a well in Linden. A Chico laboratory issued a report that her remains were commingled with other victims.

John said investigators recovered very little of Cyndi, just part of her skull, jaw and a leg bone.

But the sheriff's department said it recovered about 50 percent of her remains scattered over a quarter mile of land.

Assembly member Cathleen Galgiani said it's important investigators bring all of Cyndi home. She said killer Wesley Shermantine has drawn maps to help lead detectives to the rest of her remains.

"He's given descriptions of where she's at," she said. "He wants to bring her home. I don't care what it takes. Bring her home."

Not only does John want the rest of his daughter back, but he worries about whether he received only Cyndi's remains. But John will never know because she's already been cremated.

"I'm sure that my daughter probably wasn't the only one buried on the side of that hill," he said.

The sheriff's department said it hasn't ruled out going back to that hill in Calaveras County to try and recover the rest of Cyndi. John said if they don't, he is going to go there and get the rest of his daughter himself.