Anguish--and Relief--for Huber Family : Reaction: ‘It’s been a horrible three years,’ father says, but now the searching is over.

The question that haunted Dennis and Ione Huber for three years has been answered. And although they finally learned their missing daughter, Denise Anette Huber, is dead, there was a feeling of profound relief Sunday.

“I’m very thankful that we have an answer,” said 51-year-old Ione Huber. “We needed that, even though it wasn’t the answer that we wanted to have.”

Their home filled with family and friends, the couple was composed as they sat in their living room Sunday afternoon and spoke of what they called the “agonizing roller coaster” that began when their 23-year-old daughter vanished on June 3, 1991, while on her way home from a rock concert.

“It’s been a horrible three years,” said Dennis Huber, 55. “It’s always on your mind, and you go through so many frustrations. You wonder if she’s OK and what she’s going through. There’s not a day that I didn’t think about it.”

The couple’s search for their only daughter ended Saturday, when they learned that Denise’s frozen body was discovered in a stolen truck in Arizona, and former Orange County resident John Joseph Famalaro was arrested in connection with her death.

“It’s basically the best of a bad situation,” Dennis Huber said. “We have a body with clues and someone is in custody. That’s better than just finding a skeleton.”

Until the certainty of her death, Dennis Huber had continued to search for Denise in crowds, on the freeway and around the neighborhood.

“I still had that hope that we would find her alive, I didn’t give that up,” he said. “So it’s a big shock to know that it’s over.”

Her mother said that as the weeks stretched into months, then into years, she began to accept the fact that Denise probably was dead. Still, she was tormented by the mystery of it all.

The Hubers, with the help of police, family, friends and scores of volunteers, had launched an extensive publicity campaign seeking clues to Denise’s disappearance. They appeared on television shows, hired private detectives and psychics and raised a $10,000 reward.

The campaign included bumper stickers, billboards and banners asking for help. The most prominent banner bearing Denise’s likeness continued to hang on Sunday near the place on the Corona del Mar Freeway where her car was found.

“It’s time for that banner to come down now that we have the answer,” Ione Huber said.

Although the most crucial question has been answered, the Hubers still await more information on the case.

“There are still a lot of questions in our minds,” the father said. “How did she die? How did she get into (Famalaro’s) possession? We want to know all of the things that happened between the day she disappeared and when she was found.”

Huber said he remains bitter that no witnesses ever came forward with information after his daughter’s disappearance.

“On a busy freeway like that, I find it hard to believe that no one saw anything,” he said. “I think someone saw what happened, but they just don’t want to get involved. Those people are almost as guilty as who did this. I can’t stand that people can be indifferent to their fellow man.”

But the family, which also includes a son, 24-year-old Jeff Huber, his wife and 21-month-old daughter, said they are grateful to those who stood by them, particularly members of the Aliso Creek Presbyterian Church in Aliso Viejo, where they worship and attended services Sunday.

“These three years have been difficult, but people have been so great,” Ione Huber said. “We appreciate the prayers and support we got from so many people.”

The Hubers believe it was “God’s plan” that their impending move back to their native North Dakota was delayed a month for reasons unrelated to their daughter’s case.

“We couldn’t understand why the move got pushed back a month,” Ione Huber said. “But this was why. Now we will be able to close this chapter and move on. This will help us to have a fresh start.”

They said that only after their daughter is buried will they be able to turn their full attention to the suspect, Famalaro.

The Hubers said they both want to see Famalaro, if tried and convicted, sentenced to death.

“We just pray for justice,” Ione Huber said. “So much pain and suffering has been caused by this. (The killer) has snuffed out a life, and execution is the only justice that I can think of.”

The family said they are planning to hold a memorial service in Orange County, although a date and time have not yet been determined. Then, after they are given possession of their daughter’s body, they will have a funeral for her in South Dakota, where she will be buried next to her beloved paternal grandfather, Edward Huber.

“It used to make me angry not to have a grave to visit,” Dennis Huber said. “Now we’ll have that.

“We’ll miss her forever. She was everything to us.”