This Little Boy Mysteriously Vanished During A Family Fishing Trip
Breiton Scott Ackerman, a 4-year-old from Alton, Iowa, attended Orange City Headstart and Covenant Kids Preschool and loved the great outdoors. Some of his favorite activities included camping, riding his four-wheeler, and fishing.
Yet, on May 22, 2005, Breiton mysteriously vanished during a family fishing trip, and his remains have never been found.
That Sunday afternoon, the Ackermans had been fishing off a little concrete bridge over Willow Creek. Three adults and four other kids were present.
But between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., Breiton reportedly slipped out of sight for under a minute, and his relatives never saw him again.
They contacted the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, located in Orange City, that same day to report Breiton missing. At first, it was thought the 4-year-old might’ve fallen into the water and drowned.
However, authorities conducted comprehensive searches in both the water and the surrounding area, employing divers, canines, helicopters, and other equipment. No sign of Breiton was uncovered.
This led the police to suspect Breiton’s body could’ve been carried downstream by the current. So, further searches were executed close to Le Mars, where Willow Creek and Floyd River meet. Again, nothing was found.
The lack of answers even pushed searchers to tear up the small concrete bridge over Willow Creek. According to Sioux County Sheriff Dan Altena, though, Breiton would’ve floated a mere 100 yards down the creek due to his small size.
“We found nothing. Not one iota. Not a piece of ripped shirt or anything,” Sheriff Altena detailed.
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Years later, one of Breiton’s relatives was reportedly given a polygraph examination. This individual, a male, went to get help after Breiton disappeared, and the police wanted to determine whether the 4-year-old had snuck inside his vehicle.
This proved to be a dead end, too, as the man passed the polygraph examination. None of the people at the creek that day are suspected of hurting Breiton.
Each year, on the anniversary of Breiton’s disappearance, his father, Brad Ackerman, has visited the spot where he vanished.
Breiton had affectionately been nicknamed “daddy’s melon head,” and his favorite shirt was a T-shirt that matched one of Brad’s garments.
“I don’t think you ever quit wondering, quit worrying,” Brad said in 2012.
In a June 2012 interview with the Sioux City Journal, Brad recalled fond memories of his son, who loved going for four-wheeler rides on Saturdays, playing with his farm toys, and being with his friends and sisters.
“I think you have to find closure and peace in what happened, and we don’t have control over that. What happens is not in our control,” Brad explained.
“Accidents happen. People get ill, lose loved ones [and] babies. We don’t have control over that. There’s no way we control that, and I think you just have to come to peace with that.”
Breiton was three feet tall, weighed 40 pounds, and had sandy-colored hair and hazel eyes at the time he went missing. He was last seen wearing denim shorts and a green tank top.
Today, Breiton would be 24-years-old. Anyone with information regarding his case is urged to contact the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office at (712) 737-2280.
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