Case overview
DeOrr Kunz Jr., two years old, was reported missing from a family camping trip at Timber Creek Campground in Lemhi County, Idaho, on July 10, 2015. His parents told investigators he vanished during a brief window when multiple adults were present at the campsite. Despite extensive searches and years of investigation, no trace of the child has been found, and the case remains unresolved.
The camping trip
DeOrr Kunz Jr. traveled to Timber Creek Campground with his parents, Jessica Mitchell and DeOrr Kunz Sr., on July 9, 2015. The family was accompanied by Isaac Reinwand, a friend of DeOrr Sr., and Robert Walton, the child’s great-grandfather. The campground sits in a remote area of the Salmon-Challis National Forest, roughly 20 miles from Leadore.
The group arrived at the campsite late in the afternoon and set up camp near a creek. Walton, who used a wheelchair and had limited mobility, remained at the campsite while the others moved between the site and the surrounding area. Reinwand had been invited to assist with the trip and help supervise Walton.
On the morning of July 10, Mitchell and Kunz Sr. told investigators they left the campsite briefly to explore a nearby creek, leaving DeOrr Jr. with Walton and Reinwand. When they returned, the child was gone.
The report and initial response
At 2:30 p.m. on July 10, Kunz Sr. called 911 to report his son missing. He told dispatchers the boy had been wearing cowboy boots, blue pajama pants, and a camouflage jacket. The call triggered an immediate response from Lemhi County Search and Rescue, the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit, and the FBI.
Search teams combed the campground and surrounding wilderness using dogs, helicopters, and ground crews. Divers searched the creek. Volunteers from across the state joined the effort. The searches continued for weeks, covering more than 2.5 square miles of dense forest and rough terrain.
No clothing, no footprints, and no physical evidence of DeOrr Jr. were found.
Conflicting accounts
Investigators identified inconsistencies in the timeline provided by the four adults. The window during which DeOrr Jr. allegedly disappeared was described as brief, but the adults’ accounts of who was supervising the child and when did not align.
Walton told investigators he assumed the boy was with his parents. Reinwand said he believed Walton was watching the child. Mitchell and Kunz Sr. said they left DeOrr Jr. with the two men, but both men denied being explicitly told they were responsible for the child during that time.
Lemhi County Sheriff Lynn Bowerman publicly stated that the parents’ story had changed multiple times during interviews. In January 2016, he announced that DeOrr Sr. and Mitchell had failed polygraph examinations. Both parents denied any involvement in their son’s disappearance.
Investigative focus shifts
By early 2016, investigators began treating the case as a possible homicide rather than a missing person investigation. Sheriff Bowerman stated that evidence suggested DeOrr Jr. was not at the campground when the 911 call was made, though he did not specify what evidence supported that conclusion.
In December 2015, Lemhi County Prosecutor Steve Penner named the four adults as suspects. He stated that investigators believed someone knew what happened to the child and was not being truthful. No arrests were made, and no charges were filed.
Private investigator Philip Klein was hired by the family in 2016 but later withdrew from the case. In a public statement, Klein said he believed DeOrr Jr. was dead and that the parents knew more than they had disclosed. Klein also stated that Reinwand and Walton were not involved in the child’s disappearance.
Searches and developments
Multiple searches were conducted between 2015 and 2019, including a weeklong effort in June 2019 led by a private search and rescue team. Crews used ground-penetrating radar, cadaver dogs, and sonar equipment to search areas near the campground and the creek. No evidence was recovered.
In 2017, investigators conducted searches at the family’s apartment in Idaho Falls and other locations tied to the parents. Items were removed for analysis, but no public statements were made about what was found or whether it advanced the investigation.
Walton died in June 2019. He had consistently maintained that he did not know what happened to DeOrr Jr. and had cooperated with investigators throughout the investigation.
The parents’ position
Mitchell and Kunz Sr. have maintained that their son disappeared while under the supervision of Walton and Reinwand. Both have denied harming DeOrr Jr. or knowing what happened to him. They have appeared in multiple media interviews, including on national television, to share their account.
The couple has stated that they believe their son wandered away from the campsite and became lost in the wilderness. They have criticized investigators for focusing on them rather than continuing to search for the child. Both have said they passed private polygraph examinations, though law enforcement has not acknowledged those results.
In 2019, Mitchell and Kunz Sr. filed a lawsuit against Lemhi County and several officials, alleging defamation and claiming that public statements by investigators damaged their reputations. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2020.
What remains unresolved
No physical evidence of DeOrr Kunz Jr. has been found since July 10, 2015. No clothing, no remains, and no items belonging to the child have been recovered despite exhaustive searches of the area.
The Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office continues to classify the case as an open investigation. Investigators have stated that they do not believe DeOrr Jr. wandered away from the campsite, but they have not provided enough evidence to support an arrest or prosecution.
The case has generated national attention, with coverage from major networks and true crime programs. Despite thousands of tips and multiple investigative efforts, the question of what happened during those missing minutes at Timber Creek Campground remains unanswered.
Where to look next
- Documentary: “Disappeared” (Investigation Discovery)
- Podcast: “True Crime Garage”
