Walking With Joel

WALKING WITH JOEL

2/20/2026

WALKING WITH JOEL
A Father's Journey of Solidarity and Hope
Written by Sonja Montiel
Narrated by Dan Burchfield

It was a rainy day on January 31, 1996, in Moorpark, California. Dan Burchfield was searching for his 11-year-old son, Joel, when he didn’t come home after school.

At first, he was searching alone, later his close friend Mike Hiserman was by his side walking every street, trail, and road he could find. He walked around town in a fog of shock and confusion. He doesn’t remember a lot of details that night; however, he has a clear memory of the mass of people pouring theirs hearts out with the search. “It seemed like the whole town of Moorpark just came together while I was frantically trying to find my son.”

Neighbors, friends, and strangers filled the streets, passing out flyers, praying, and combing through fields and trails. It was solidarity in its purest form. His community didn’t need permission or an invitation. Dan didn’t have to ask for anything. When he and his family was in need, one phone call led to another, led to another.

When Joel was found, the grief was unimaginable. Walking home from school on that rainy day, he drowned trying to cross the 70-foot-wide channel with a rapidly rising creek.

As Joel’s family leaned into one another during their darkest times, the community continued to gather and coordinate, raising nearly $10,000 for his family practically overnight. “I didn’t know what to do with that money,” Dan remembers. “It’s amazing to look back and realize that the funds raised were the seeds of the Joel Burchfield Memorial Fund.”

The Joel Burchfield Memorial Fund began humbly, giving out $250 scholarships for two students the first year. Over time, it grew into $1,000 to $2,000 awards for 10 to 20 students annually, supporting young people who have overcome adversity. “I’d read their essays as part of the application process and was inspired by their stories of loss and resilience. I thought, this is why we keep going,” Dan shares. Today, the fund has provided over $140,000 to students who are pursuing their dreams. Later the Joel Burchfield Memorial Fund would expand to giving out scholarships to Moorpark Little League, Moorpark Softball and Moorpark Youth Football.

The fund also sparked advocacy. Dan and the community fought for a pedestrian bridge to prevent future tragedies by attending every city council meeting. At least a dozen people would join him. During the time when the bridge was being built, a group of parents would stand at the access points of the channel during rainy days to make sure that kids would not cross. “The solidarity of my community just came together at every time of need, during and after. It was like them wrapping their arms around my family and I.”

Through relentless perseverance, the Joel Burchfield Bridge, known as Joel’s Bridge, was built in 1997 and was officially dedicated to Joel on February 5, 2022.

Grief didn’t just change Dan’s mission. It changed his career. He coached Joel’s Little League baseball team and will always remember attending the team’s remaining games of the season without Joel. “Watching my son's friends on the Moorpark Little League All Star team persevere their way through a miraculous run to the Little League World series in Williamsport brought me out of my stupor grief. They displayed my son's banner in the dugout before each game. They would run out to second base and pray for my son before each game. Watching this unfold before my eyes helped mend my heart. Watching the solidarity of that ritual at every game was a calling for me.”

At 42 years old, after 20 years as a plumber, Dan became a high school history teacher, director of the theatre program, a baseball coach, and a football and basketball announcer at Moorpark High School. He now also serves on the school board for the district. “I wanted to give back to the youth who stood by me,” he says. His classroom became a safe haven, a place where students felt seen and heard.

One student who once hated history now dreams of becoming a history teacher because of Dan’s approach. Another, who lost her father, found comfort in his words: “No one can tell you how to feel. This is what I did, and this is what helped me.”

Dan infused creativity into teaching using music and costumes. “I wanted to make learning fun,” he says. “And I wanted every student to know they mattered.” Years later, former students still reach out, sharing how his honesty and warmth shaped their lives. “I didn’t know I made that big of an impact,” Dan admits. “But hearing that I did. It means everything.”

Throughout the decades of teaching, Dan has earned numerous teaching awards to include The 2009 WHO Teacher of the Year, 2013&2023 Muskie Award Teacher of the Year, 2015 Linda Anderson Excellence in Education Award, and 2016 Boys and Girls Club of Moorpark Champion of the Youth Award.

When The Joel Burchfield Memorial Fund ran low, Dan didn’t quit. He walked. Literally. His first long-distance walk, from Lake Casitas to Torrance, covered 105 miles and raised over $17,000 after an LA Times article shared his story.

Since then, Dan has walked over a thousand miles, often carrying a 25-pound backpack, training for months before each journey. “Don’t ask me how I do it,” he laughs. “I believe Joel’s with me. I believe God’s with me.”

Over the years, 100–200 people have joined him on his walk, now called The Joel Burchfield Spirit Walk, including former students. “One year, 15 people walked with me down Pacific Coast Highway. I looked like Forrest Gump,” he jokes.

Although the Spirit Walk helps maintain the Fund, the experience is more spiritual for Dan. “At first, I walked to be alone with Joel. Now, I walk to help others. It’s about being in the moment, feeling Joel and God with me, and noticing the smallest miracles on this Earth. I feel gratitude.”

He journals during these walks, writing letters to Joel and reflections that became his book, My Journey With Joel. “Walking taught me presence,” he says. “It’s where grief turned into purpose.”

From one family’s tragedy grew a model of community, resilience, and hope. Joel’s name lives on, not just in scholarships and walks, but in every student who dares to dream because someone believed in them. As Dan reflects, he smiles: “I look back on all I’ve done the last 25 years, and I’m glad I stayed the course. Perseverance and hope. That’s what it takes, and this is what I want to pass on to every young person.” ∎