07-21-2015, 01:46 PM
After the first three days of searching, LE suspended the search. Here's the Sheriff's report as to why, submitted on July 13th.
SHERIFF REPORTS TO COMMISSIONERS 7-13-15 LMS
Sheriff Lynn Bowerman told the Lemhi County Commissioners Monday, July 13, that based on the intense and extensive search conducted near Leadore for two year old Deorr Kunz Jr., it doesn’t make sense that the boy was not found.
Bowerman said the trained search dogs found nothing and kept coming back to the camp. Helicopters were used day and night to fly the area and fly over Stone Reservoir which is shallow enough to see to the bottom. He said divers explored the lake while approximately 150 volunteers on foot and on horseback conducted a thorough three mile grid-search of Timber Creek. The possibility of abduction by bear, wolf or mountain lion is not being ruled out although no trace of the boy or his apparel, which included oversized cowboy boots, was found.
The small boy disappeared Friday, July 10, from the Timber Creek Campground at Stone Reservoir. Bowerman said Timber Creek terrain is steep and rugged and is a mix of sagebrush and timber. He said given the proven expertise of the dogs the boy should have been found the first day.
Commissioner Chairman Rick Snyder described the area where the family was camped as being at the lake’s outlet which is very steep with very fast moving water flowing through brush and trees and limbs, all of which were pulled apart by searchers. Bowerman said people in wet suits were in the creek searching every hole.
The search has been officially suspended. The sheriff said investigators from Bonneville and Bingham counties have offered assistance in further follow-up investigations into any possible criminal histories of those involved. http://lemhiweb.com/content/search-recap
Then, the cadaver dogs started picking up a death scent in the water; the search efforts were back on and expanded. Divers with sonar did a major search of the creek and the reservoir for days.
Until, LE learned that somebody had dumped cremated human remains in the water days after Deorr was reported missing and that's what the cadaver dogs appear to have started hitting on.
So now, the search is again suspended and the investigation has been re-directed. Odd course of events.
It bothers me that the scent dogs (not the cadaver dogs who are trained to detect human decomp/remains) just kept circling back to the campsite where little Deorr's belongings were located. Deorr himself and his belongings would carry his scent. If he toddled off, it's curious to me that the tracking dogs reportedly didn't follow his scent anywhere.
SHERIFF REPORTS TO COMMISSIONERS 7-13-15 LMS
Sheriff Lynn Bowerman told the Lemhi County Commissioners Monday, July 13, that based on the intense and extensive search conducted near Leadore for two year old Deorr Kunz Jr., it doesn’t make sense that the boy was not found.
Bowerman said the trained search dogs found nothing and kept coming back to the camp. Helicopters were used day and night to fly the area and fly over Stone Reservoir which is shallow enough to see to the bottom. He said divers explored the lake while approximately 150 volunteers on foot and on horseback conducted a thorough three mile grid-search of Timber Creek. The possibility of abduction by bear, wolf or mountain lion is not being ruled out although no trace of the boy or his apparel, which included oversized cowboy boots, was found.
The small boy disappeared Friday, July 10, from the Timber Creek Campground at Stone Reservoir. Bowerman said Timber Creek terrain is steep and rugged and is a mix of sagebrush and timber. He said given the proven expertise of the dogs the boy should have been found the first day.
Commissioner Chairman Rick Snyder described the area where the family was camped as being at the lake’s outlet which is very steep with very fast moving water flowing through brush and trees and limbs, all of which were pulled apart by searchers. Bowerman said people in wet suits were in the creek searching every hole.
The search has been officially suspended. The sheriff said investigators from Bonneville and Bingham counties have offered assistance in further follow-up investigations into any possible criminal histories of those involved. http://lemhiweb.com/content/search-recap
Then, the cadaver dogs started picking up a death scent in the water; the search efforts were back on and expanded. Divers with sonar did a major search of the creek and the reservoir for days.
Until, LE learned that somebody had dumped cremated human remains in the water days after Deorr was reported missing and that's what the cadaver dogs appear to have started hitting on.
So now, the search is again suspended and the investigation has been re-directed. Odd course of events.
It bothers me that the scent dogs (not the cadaver dogs who are trained to detect human decomp/remains) just kept circling back to the campsite where little Deorr's belongings were located. Deorr himself and his belongings would carry his scent. If he toddled off, it's curious to me that the tracking dogs reportedly didn't follow his scent anywhere.