On July 10, 2015, a toddler named DeOrr Kunz Jr. disappeared while on a camping trip at the Timber Creek Campground in Lemhi County, Idaho.
Investigators have searched the campsite and the surrounding area multiple times over the years. To this day, the little boy’s disappearance is still a mystery.
On the afternoon of July 9, 2015, DeOrr and his parents, Jessica Mitchell and Vernal DeOrr Kunz, left Idaho Falls to go on a camping trip.
DeOrr’s great-grandfather, Robert Walton, and his friend, Isaac Reinwand, met up with the young family at the campground. It was dark by the time the group arrived.
Robert slept in his camper, Isaac slept in a tent, and DeOrr slept with his parents. The next morning, DeOrr stomped around the campsite wearing large cowboy boots while they all ate breakfast.
Around noon, DeOrr’s parents took him to the Stage Shop Junction Store about 30 minutes away from the campground. When they returned, they left DeOrr with his great-grandfather and went off to go fishing.
DeOrr was gone when they came back. Robert thought the toddler was with his parents, and Isaac was fishing in the creek. They began looking for DeOrr, and when they couldn’t find him anywhere, they called the police.
That day, no one else had been camping near the family. For the next two days, search and rescue teams scoured the area on foot, by horse, and by helicopter.
Dog teams were brought in, and divers searched the creek and a nearby reservoir. Over 200 people participated in the search effort. No trace of him was ever found.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
Jessica and Vernal both believe their son had been abducted. Law enforcement interviewed everyone who had been on the camping trip. Jessica and Vernal willingly took lie detector tests.
At first, the investigators did not suspect foul play, but in January 2016, DeOrr’s parents became persons of interest, as well as Robert and Isaac. Their stories were not adding up, and their statements didn’t match.
The first private investigator hired by the family believed initially that DeOrr had been abducted. But he ended up resigning from the case because he didn’t think the family was telling the truth.
He believed that DeOrr’s parents possibly gave him away or sold him. The second private investigator believed that DeOrr was killed and his parents were involved, but were trying to cover it up.
Finally, the third private investigator currently working with the family believes that the parents had nothing to do with DeOrr’s disappearance and that Isaac knows more than he is letting on. Robert died in 2019, and Jessica and Vernal are no longer together.
DeOrr Kunz Jr. was born on December 30, 2012. At the time of his disappearance, he was two years old. He was 3’0″ tall and weighed 28 pounds.
He had blonde hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a camouflage-print jacket, blue pajama pants, green and black checkered socks, and brown cowboy boots with a camouflage print that were two to three sizes too big for him.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
