If you are a parent, you are certainly familiar with the feeling that comes when your child is out of sight. My heart freezes, and my breasts are out of breath. The blood drains to the feet, the stomach twists into a knot. There is only one thought in my head: where is my baby? In most cases, both sides will only eat the fear. The kid finds himself safe and sound a few steps away. You don't even want to wonder what would have happened if he hadn't found himself. Just like the two-year-old DeOrr Kunz.
In early July 2015, the Kunz family went on a spontaneous picnic in the mountains of Idaho (USA). The group consisted of: Jessica Mitchell and DeOrr Kunz Senior (the boy's parents), Robert Walton (DeOrr junior's great-grandfather) and a friend of the senior of the family - Isaac Reinwand.
The family set up camp at Timber Creek Campground near the town of Leadore. Everyone knew the area well. Robert often went fishing there. It was he who offered the children this joint holiday trip. The man was seriously ill with prostate cancer and used the oxygen apparatus on a daily basis. Despite the treatment, he had already metastasized, so it was clear to everyone that Robert's days were numbered.
The family arrived on an unpaved rocky road around midnight on July 9. The Timber Creek area is picturesque, but also dangerous. Nearby is a water reservoir called Stone Reservoir fed by a stream.
DeOrr junior was only two years old, but he already showed an extraordinary personality. He loved to wear a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. He had his own pair that were at least two numbers too big for his little feet. DeOrr didn't mind it though, and put on his shoes as often as he could. No wonder he also wore them on the campground.
On July 10, DeOrr's parents left the boy in the care of his great-grandfather Robert, and they went on a short reconnaissance around the area. They wanted to find a good place to fish together. They were gone for only a quarter of an hour. When they returned to the camp, they asked Bob where their son was. He replied, surprised that DeOrr had gone with them to the river ...
In a split second it was revealed that DeOrr had been unattended for the last fifteen minutes. Neither of the adults knew where he might be now. Jessica and her husband explained that they did not take their son with them. Robert, sick, using oxygen, could not take care of him, because he was simply too weak in the world.
The family went in search. Even if the boy was left alone for a moment, he could not get far - in too big, cowboy boots, in difficult, rocky, wild terrain. Everyone was convinced that in a moment they would notice his lush, pale hair somewhere in the bushes. But nothing of the sort happened.
The parents decided to call for help, which turned out to be very difficult. There was no cell phone coverage at the campground. So Jessica and DeOrr senior got into the car and started walking. It was only after a long time that they managed to catch the signal and call the police.
The boy's mother testified that DeOrr was missing around 2:40 PM. The last time she saw him, he was wearing blue pajama pants, a camouflage jacket and the famous, oversized cowboy boots. The child was to be cared for by the grandfather, but the grandfather did not manage to look after his grandson.
The police took the report seriously. The area was full of dangers for a small, defenseless child. They include water reservoirs, wild animals, weather, air temperature and much more.
A large-scale search was launched: on foot, on horseback, in the air and on quad bikes. Divers dressed in appropriate wetsuits on all fours combed the channel leading to the Stone Reservoir. Any trace was looked for - a shoe, blood stains, a fragment of clothing. In vain.
The hypothesis of an attack by a wild animal or even a bird of prey was considered. However, there was not the slightest evidence confirming such a course of events. Timber Creek Campground and footpaths have been ransacked. They were so rocky and steeply inclined that a 2-year-old in oversized boots would not have had a chance to walk even 10 meters through them unscathed.
And yet there was no trace of the little one. His favorite things are left at the campsite - a blanket, a mascot, a mug with a drink. Around 14 DeOrr, he used to take a nap. He never strayed away from his parents so as not to be in sight. He liked adventures, but wasn't brave enough to look for them on his own.
Great-grandfather DeOrr was convinced that the boy had gone with his parents to the river. After all, he loved fishing. Jessicka replied that in fact the boy was supposed to accompany his parents, but after a few steps he changed his mind and turned back to Robert. Jessica - screaming - warned that her great-grandson was coming to him and that she was asking for taking care of him. Bob swore he hadn't heard anything like that.
Where was Isaac Reinwand, Robert's friend, at that time? The man testified that shortly after arriving at the campsite, he went fishing alone. He returned to the camp after DeOrr was missing, so he could not provide any information about him.
Isaac Reinwand may have seemed the strangest character in the story. He was portrayed as a friend of Robert. The men were separated by a great difference in age and life experiences, yet they were very close to each other. They had known each other for five years. Their account may seem a little less bizarre given Isaac's slight mental retardation.
In addition to family members, employees of the Stage Shop in Ledore, 40 minutes from the campsite, were also interviewed. The Kunz family had shopped there before. The employees agreed that the little boy was not with them.
Despite a meticulous, large-scale search, no trace of the two-year-old has been found - no remnants of clothes, no traces of blood, or even DNA. As a result, there were suspicions that the child was not at the campsite at all. Family members didn't even want to hear about it. Of course they were away with their son for the weekend.
Dogs trained to search for bodies were brought to the site. These took up the trail several times, which later turned out to be completely unrelated to the case. It's time for officers to take a closer look at DeOrr's parents and great-grandfather.
The boy's parents were the first to come under the investigators' scrutiny. They underwent several polygraph tests - none of them passed. They couldn't even agree on what they ate for breakfast that day. As a result of the investigation, they were announced as suspects in the case in January 2016.
Lemhi County Sheriff Lynn Bowerman said: I believe my parents are hiding something. I have no doubts about it. We gave them the opportunity to explain themselves if there was any accident. They did not take advantage of it. Bowerman added that, according to him, DeOrr was murdered and that his body was hidden somewhere far outside the campsite.
The interested parties themselves did not have much to complain about. They mostly blamed Robert - after all, he did not take care of their child. They knew that the elder of the family was unable to cope with such a difficult task due to a serious illness, and yet they burdened him with it.
In the end, the parents were not charged with any crime. No solid (even circumstantial) evidence was gathered against them. In a few interviews, they agreed that they were terrified by the whole situation and would not rest until they found their son.
Three days after their disappearance, the Kunzs organized a candlelight vigil. They then declared that they suspected their son had been kidnapped and was now under the tutelage of some strangers. They asked the alleged kidnappers to return the child to them.
Isaac Reinwand, a friend of Robert, was also considered a possible suspect. The man undoubtedly looked "strange", but it was related to his mental retardation.
Jessica and her husband maintained that Isaac had gone with them on the unlucky day to the river, but after a while he disconnected and disappeared from sight. The man denied everything. Bob replied that he knew his friend and that he could not hurt the two-year-old DeOrr.
Robert Walton declined to comment on the matter publicly. Rather, no one seriously suspected him of anything. This old, sick man could not take five steps without gasping for breath, and he undoubtedly loved his great-grandson very much. He had a very good contact with him, DeOrr loved him.
Private Investigator # 1
Jessica and DeOrr Sr. hired a private investigator named Frank Vilt in late August 2015. The man warned from the very beginning that the condition of cooperation is complete honesty on the part of his principals.
To everyone's surprise, the detective gave up the assignment just a month later. He justified his decision by the fact that Jesicca and her husband withheld from him what they really knew about their son's disappearance. In a special letter published in the media, he wrote: In my opinion, you both lied and distorted the facts that could be the key to solving the mystery of your child's disappearance.
Private Investigator # 2
Undeterred by the earlier failure, the family hired another private investigator, this time from Klein Investigations and Consulting. Its co-founder - Phillip Klein - declared that his employees ruled out wild animal attack and abduction.
Later, Klein, like Frank Vilt, came into conflict with his employers. The man suspected that DeOrr's disappearance was most likely the result of an accident that was later thoroughly covered up by the boy's parents. The main actress of the plot was to be Jessica.
Mr. and Mrs. Kunz were outraged by the insinuations made by Phillip Klein. They threatened him with a lawsuit. Their scuffling with each other, however, was less important than the fact that another private investigator had confirmed his predecessor's version, and in a sense also the Lemhi County Sheriff's.
Jessica and DeOrr Sr. split up shortly after their son goes missing. They both started new families and moved to other states. For many months, they did not pay the rent for a shared flat, from which they were eventually kicked out.
The police were called to the premises. A search has been made. Officers found, among other things, the camo jacket that DeOrr was supposed to wear on the day he disappeared, as well as a few other things he was supposed to have with him at the campsite.
In 2019, a small bone was found in Timber Creek. It was sent to the FBI lab in Quantico. After a year, however, it turned out that the bone probably belonged to an animal, not a human.
The so-called age progression of little DeOrr was published in the media. The artwork suggests what the boy would look like today. If he were still alive, he would have been 9 years old. Grandma DeOrra confessed in an interview for KTVB in 2016 6 years after her disappearance) that she returns to the unfortunate campsite around DeOrr's birthday every year. He hopes to find any trace of what really happened to the boy. Until this happens, she will not be able to find peace.
It cannot be ruled out with certainty that the missing toddler, now quite big, lives somewhere happily and safely. And although it is unlikely, each of us would wish for it.
Sources:
- https://www.vizaca.com/baby-deorr-kunz-jr-disappearance/
- https://pol.jf-staeulalia.pt/two-year-old-deorr-kunz-went-missing-camping-trip-2015
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spp-8iE7dq4
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