Picture Gone Viral Is Not That Of Missing Toddler DeOrr Kunz, Investigation Continues

Two months after the disappearance of DeOrr Kunz, one potential lead about the missing toddler has been struck down. A viral photo circulating on Facebook, posted by a Maria Red Rum, showed a toddler abandoned at a motel in California. Since the boy looked very similar to DeOrr Kunz, many called it in as a potential lead. However, the Lemhi County Sheriff, Lynn Bowerman, said the lead had been investigated and it was not the missing DeOrr.

DeOrr Kunz vanished on July 10 from the Timber Creek Campground near Leadore, Idaho, where he was camping with his parents, DeOrr Kunz Sr. and Jessica Mitchell; DeOrr’s great-grandfather; and a family friend. His parents had left DeOrr with his great-grandfather while they went to find fishing sites, and when they returned found him missing. The Kunz family called 911 at 2:35 in the afternoon to say he had “just vanished” an hour ago. A massive search of the area was launched, with search dogs, helicopters, divers, people on ATVs, and horseback searchers all called on to locate the child. The search for the missing DeOrr Kunz continued for two weeks before being scaled back. The Kunz family has been reported to be cooperating with the investigation into their missing child and has taken polygraph tests. The FBI is currently reviewing the case.

The Kunz family has stated that they believe DeOrr’s disappearance is a result of an abduction. They have hired a private investigator to look into this. The investigator is currently focusing on a “suspicious man” that DeOrr’s mother saw at a local store on the day DeOrr went missing. He is described as being in his fifties, with whitish-gray hair, and was reportedly driving a new Jeep Rubicon. Another woman has come forward to say that she spotted a similar man eight days later both hiking in the Palisades and inside a convenience store in Swan Valley. Local authorities have said the missing child most likely wandered off but abduction is not being ruled out.

At the time he went missing, DeOrr Kunz was was wearing a camouflage jacket, cowboy boots, and blue pajama pants. He is a two-year-old white male with blond hair and brown eyes who is three feet tall and weighs 28 pounds. His nickname is “Little Man.” If you have any information as to the whereabouts of missing DeOrr Kunz, please contact either the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office at 1-208-756-8980.

[Images via National Center for Missing and Exploited Children]