Parents suspected in toddler’s disappearance

A Lemhi County sheriff says the parents of a 2-year-old Idaho boy have been “less than truthful” and are “the top persons of interests” in the toddler’s disappearance.

Bowerman said he believes DeOrr’s parents know where he is and whether he is dead or alive.

He says the investigation is basically “centered” on the missing toddler’s parents.

“They’re not able to tell the same story twice because they’ve told so many stories, you know, getting changes in the story all the time”, he said.

Bowerman says the couple has not been arrested and no warrants have been issued.

DeOrr Kunz went missing on July 10.

Trina Clegg, Jessica Mitchell’s mother and DeOrr’s grandmother, says the family has raised $15,000, and every penny of that is going to pay for the private investigator out of Texas.

For months, the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office has been inundated with phone calls from people asking if donating money to the parents of missing Idaho Falls 3-year-old DeOrr Kunz Jr. was recommended.

Bowerman and his deputies have scoured the rugged terrain surrounding the remote Idaho campsite for the boy – using sonar imaging equipment to probe a nearby reservoir and searching a wolf den for any trace of the child.

However, police found no sign of the child. “We put the helicopters in place, we had good scent dogs, and we had a volunteer search and rescue team”.

The search ultimately covered a 2.5-mile radius around the campsite.

Walton told authorities he last saw DeOrr near the bank of the creek. “I believe what they are telling me”.

Deorr would have been alone for between 20 and 45 minutes before anyone noticed he was missing, according to their account. “Does that mean they’re suspects?”

Does DeOrr Kunz, Jr.’s parents have anything to do with his disappearance? You have a lot of people that love you and, buddy, we’ll find you’.

But Reinwand added he would be surprised to learn DeOrr Kunz Sr. and Jessica Mitchell were involved in the disappearance. Just bring him home safely where he belongs’. It’s been six months since the two-year-old disappeared at the Timber Creek Campground.

“Until charges are filed or until they (authorities) can present (irrefutable) proof, I will stand 100 percent behind DeOrr and Jessica”, she said. “Both that and their questioning indicated they were being less than truthful”.

Police have received tips from as far afield as Canada and southern California as to where Deorr may be, but the information offered so far has provided no leads.

The family were camping about 40 meters from a fast-flowing creek that empties into the Timber Creek Reservoir.