The Decorr Kunzz Case

Brief Case Overview

The Decor Kunz case was where a two-year-old boy was camping with his family in Idaho and went missing when everyone turned their backs on July 10, 2015. The family has been a focus on as suspects but nobody has ever been found. The decorator was camping with his mom, dad, grandparents, and a family friend. His parents went for a short walk thinking that their son was being followed by the grandparents. When they came back, the boy was gone.

The region that Deorr disappeared is very, very remote with a rough dirt road as an entry point

In-Depth Case overview

A spur-of-the-moment family outing ends in tragedy when a woman calls emergency services to report that her 2-year-old son, DeOrr Kunz Jr., is missing from the Timber Creek Campground ten miles west of Leadore, Idaho.

In the years since repeated tries of deceit have painted the parents as suspects by police and their former private detective. However, minimal proof has been found and neither parent has admitted to the crime. As time passes, the family continues to distance themselves from the community they once regarded so highly, leaving everyone wondering — where is DeOrr Kunz Jr.?

DeOrr Jay Kunz Jr. was born on December 30, 2012, to Jessica Mitchell and her fiancé at the time, Vernal DeOrr Kunz Sr., in Idaho Falls, Idaho. To his family, he was known as ‘Little Man’. He was positive, fun-loving, and curious; an average child with an above-average love for life.

On July 10th of 2015, Mitchell and Vernal decided to take a camping trip that seemed sudden and surprising. She would go on to invite her grandfather, Robert Walton, who stayed with the couple, to join them. Walton then invited his friend, Issac Reinwand, who declared he had never met the couple or DeOrr previou to this trip.

In a truck pulling the camping trailer, the five occupants loaded up and drove 2 hours to Leadore. Rather than stopping at the campground, they continue another 40-minutes down the highway to arrive at the Stage Stop, a convenience store in Leadore where they claim the store clerk witnessed Mitchell and Kunz with their son.

However, when quizzed later, the clerk claimed they saw a blond boy at 6:00 that night, not the 1 o’clock frame time the parents had given to police in their reports. Vernal Kunz later stated the clerk was “mistaken”, a claim that is scrutinized to this day.

When they finally pull up to the campground, Mitchell, Vernal, and DeOrr put up chairs and lit a fire in the firepit, despite the average temperature reaching over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26 Celcius) that day. Meanwhile, Walton opens up the trailer and relaxes inside, saying to have left the door open.

Reinwand states that he left shortly after arriving to go fishing on the nearby waterway, only to return after the toddler was found to be missing.

When Jessica and Vernal finished their tasks, Mitchell states that she shouted to her grandfather that they were leaving DeOrr behind while they investigated the grounds. However, Walton maintained that he never heard Jessica’s call and that he was unaware that he was the one responsible for the toddler.

In a mere half-hour, the family would come to find that Decor was missing, thinking he was abducted.

The 911 Call

Mother's 911 phone call released -- "My 2-year-old son, we can't find him..." LEADER - The Lemhi County Sheriff's Office has released the 911 phone call where 2-year-old Deorr Kunz was initially.

The 9–1–1 call, which lasted just over four minutes, is supposedly vacant of the emotion we might expect from a parent who has just lost their child. Everyone grieves differently and her lack of emotional appeal might imply that Mitchell has simply gone into shock, but many speculate that her attitude is an acceptance of guilt.

In the background of Mitchell’s call, we can hear DeOrr’s father, Vernal, making his call to emergency services.

Image for postage for post Map image showing distance from Leadore, Idaho to the Timber Creek campground.

In January of 2016, Jessica Mitchell and Vernal Kunz Sr. were named suspects in their son’s disappearance by Lemhi County Sheriff at the time, Lynn Bowerman, after their recollections of events leading up to DeOrr’s disappearance changed many times throughout the inquiry.

Through is a few suspects no one has yet been brought to justice. DeOrr has/is categorized still missing.