Missing: DeOrr Kunz Jr
When children go missing, families spend months, years, and even decades trying to discover what happened to their lost loved ones. But getting a conclusion and some sort of resolution is never simple, especially when there is insufficient evidence.
And one of the most unfortunate and strange disappearances is DeOrr Kunz Jr who has now been missing for eight years.
Two-year-old, Deorr Kunz Jr., from Idaho Falls, disappeared on July 10, 2015, while visiting Timber Creek Campground, 10 miles from Leadore, Idaho with his parents, Jessica Mitchell and Vernal DeOrr Kunz Senior. The site was close to the Stone Reservoir and a stream ran alongside.
DeOrr’s great-grandfather (Grandfather of Jessica), Robert Walton, and Isaac Reinwand, a friend of Walton’s, were also on the camping trip. This would be the first time the mother and father met Isaac.
The group was on a family fishing trip when DeOrr disappeared around 2.40 pm. On that day, Mitchell and Vernal’s decision to take the camping and fishing trip was sudden and unexpected, according to other family members. It was to become a fateful decision to head out into the wilderness.
The campground where DeOrr Kunz Jr was reportedly last seen.
The Arrival
When they reached the campsite, Mitchell, Vernal, and DeOrr put up chairs and lit a fire in the firepit. Walton went to the trailer and relaxed inside, claiming to have left the door open.
Issac Reinwand said that he left shortly after arriving to go fishing on the nearby stream, only to return after DeOrr was found to be missing.
When Jessica and Vernal accomplished their tasks, Mitchell alleges that she shouted to her grandfather that they were leaving DeOrr behind while looking around the area. However, Walton maintained that he never heard Jessica’s call and that he was unaware that he was the one responsible for the boy. Thirty minutes later, the family learned, DeOrr was missing.
According to Lemhi County Sheriff Lynn Bowerman, Jessica and DeOrr Sr. were walking down to a stream near the campsite to fish with Reinwand. DeOrr Jr. accompanied the three individuals.
DeOrr Jr.’s parents asked the two-year-old if he liked to stay with his grandfather or go fishing, to which DeOrr Jr. supposedly began walking back to be with Walton. This would be the last time he was seen.
Later, Walton said he saw his grandson near the stream, took his eyes off the boy for just a while, and when he looked back, DeOrr Jr. was gone.
The Search
Multiple extensive searches have been conducted through the mountain fields, dense pine forests, and waterways in the weeks and months since the boy lost. Search and Rescue teams on foot, horseback and ATVs scoured the remote campground dozens of times over the years. Searches have been made from the air using helicopters and drones.
Advanced teams and K9 dogs were brought in to find any sign of DeOrr, and searchers focused on the Timber Creek and Stone Reservoir near the campsite where he was last seen.
Three private investigators have conducted their own investigations into the case, but no solid proof of DeOrr’s whereabouts was presented.
Discrepancies
Differences immediately appeared in the accounts of the parents under which DeOrr disappeared. Discrepancies in statements became public, and officials said both had declined multiple polygraph tests. As a result, both Mitchell and DeOrr Sr. were mentioned suspects in the case in January 2016.
The couple got a divorce, and Jessica remarried soon after, leaving their apartment abandoned. Investigators got ahold of everything put into storage and discovered the jacket that DeOrr Jr. was supposedly wearing on the day he went missing.
Evidence continues to grow against the parents, as there was no sign their son was ever at the site, there was no blood or DNA proof discovered, and the jacket he was probably wearing was in their apartment the whole time along with some toys they claim he had with him when he disappeared.
Conclusion
This may scream foul play on the surface, however something seems off about this story. Certainly the Lemhi County Sheriff's Office is withholding key information from the public since this still remains an active investigation.
In a state with so many natural settings, varying from beautiful mountainous ranges to sun-bleached deserts, being outdoors is a primary aspect of Idahoan livelihoods, camping being just one of many favorite pastimes. The advice I have here is to never plan a trip to a remote campground on a whim. Have a backup plan. Don't leave your child with a person who is incoherent and disabled or even a complete stranger that you have just met, because the vast forest changes from a blessing to a curse.
If you have any information about this case contact
Lemhi County Sheriff's Office
206 Courthouse Dr.
Salmon, ID 83467
208-742-1680
