# Logging Fatality with Tragic Custody Side Story



## Philbert (Oct 4, 2011)

*Father, son reunited only too briefly*

By Nick Ferraro

Posted: 10/03/2011 12:01:00 AM CDT

Danny Dimm fought hard to have a life with his son. But he and 5-year-old Timber would have just two months together. 

On Monday, Dimm was crushed to death in a logging accident in British Columbia, where father and son had been living since being reunited in August. Dimm, 53, fought his former wife, at the time a Hastings resident, for custody of their son for nearly five years in Canada and the U.S. A British Columbia provincial court granted him sole guardianship of the boy in July. 

"Just when we thought this little boy had a chance," said Theresa Gerlach, a Hastings attorney who helped Dimm throughout his legal battle. 

Dimm's fight for Timber drew widespread attention after his ex-wife vanished with their son in early June instead of allowing Dimm a four-month, court-ordered visit with the boy. Hastings police issued two public pleas for help in finding the boy's mother, Wendi Bartell Dimm. She was charged June 23 in Dakota County District Court with one felony count of depriving another of parental or custodial rights. 

Bartell Dimm and Timber were found safe Aug. 2 after a tip led authorities to a women's shelter in Lemmon, S.D. The two had been living under different names. Timber and his father were reunited for good on Aug. 4. Bartell Dimm, 44, remains in the Dakota County jail. Her bond has been set at $25,000. 

A lumberjack, Dimm was clearing land at a rural job site near his hometown of Lillooet, British Columbia, when a tree fell in the wrong direction and hit a tree-loading vehicle, Canadian authorities said. The vehicle tipped over and crushed Dimm, who was pronounced dead at the scene, said Sgt. Fran Bethell of the Lillooet Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Although the case is under investigation, she said, "this looks clearly like it is an unfortunate and tragic accident." 

Dimm was an independent contractor and was hired by the property owner to do the work, she said. No one else was injured. 

Timber, who has been diagnosed with mild to moderate autism, had been staying with his father and his aunt, Jewel Juriansz, who is a registered nurse and a holistic dietary consultant. The boy has been attending school and "has been doing incredibly well," Gerlach said. Dimm had been looking for a lab-mix puppy for Timber, she said. 

Juriansz, who had seen her brother just before the accident, "is in absolute shock," Gerlach said. 
Two days after Bartell Dimm's arrest, Dimm and Timber were reunited in the lobby of a South Dakota social services agency. It had been more than a year and a half since he had last seen his son in person. 
Dimm told the Pioneer Press then that he got down on one knee and extended his open arms. 

"I think I hugged him more than he hugged me," Dimm said. "I just about broke down in tears." 
He said he was ready for the "awesome responsibility of being a parent." "I've looked forward to this day for a long time, and it's one I fully embrace," he said. And that's exactly what he did, said Kevin Taylor, a former mayor of Lillooet who had been helping Dimm acquire medical insurance and special services for Timber's autism. He said Dimm was "so proud to be a father." "He was doing a super job," he said. 

Taylor recalled seeing Dimm and Timber at the town's recent salmon festival. "Danny was showing his son off," he said. "My wife made a comment at the time how Timber is such a beautiful little boy." Taylor said Lillooet, a town of about 2,500, is stunned by Dimm's death. He said many of the residents who have rallied around Dimm now will concentrate on Timber, who was born in Kamloops. "We're a small community here and once everyone is aware of what happened, there's going to be lot of community support coming in," he said. It is too early to say who will be granted custody of the boy, Gerlach said. 

A Dakota County judge and authorities have questioned Bartell Dimm's ability to care for Timber. 
The most recent episode allegedly was the second time she had taken off with the child. "I'm very concerned about this little boy," Gerlach said. 

http://www.twincities.com/ci_19034034?nclick_check=1


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