Welcome to Top Ten Thursday!
Today you're supposed to try a case. Sort of. Choose a case that is on your mind like Lee Harvey Oswald, Shayna Hubers, Justin Ross Harris or Chris Watts, and share ten reasons why in your opinion this individual is suspicious, guilty or innocent.
I chose an unsolved missing person's case that bothers me:
DeOrr Kunz, then 2.5 years old, was allegedly last seen July 10, 2015 while camping with his parents, Jessica Mitchell and Vernal Kunz, Mitchell’s grandfather Robert Walton and Isaac Reinwand, a family friend, at Timber Creek campground in Leadore, Idaho. DeOrr’s parents said they went to explore and left the toddler with his great grandfather. The great grandfather, however, assumed DeOrr was with his parents. Within about 10 minutes they noticed that the little boy was gone.
A frightening moment that no parent wants to go through!
Here are some links in case you're interested in more facts / reports:
EastIdahoNews.com has created a timeline to detail the events of the past ten days:
Friday July 10
Deorr Kunz Jr, his father, mother, great-grandfather, and a family friend travel 120 miles from Idaho Falls to Timber Creek Campground in Leadore.
The campsite is remote and takes around two and a half hours to drive to from Idaho Falls.
At 2:28 p.m., Deorr’s mother, Jessica Mitchell, calls 911 and reports her son missing.
Search crews arrive and begin to look for the toddler.
Saturday July 11
Searchers look on horseback, ATVs, foot, and in water for Deorr. They focus on a two and a half mile radius around the campground.
One area of concern is a creek about 15 yards away from the campsite. The area is searched numerous times.
Sunday July 12
The Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office reports nearly 200 volunteers show up to look for Deorr. His grandmother tells EastIdahoNews.com it appears the two-year-old “just vanished.”
Volunteer search efforts are suspended, but deputies say trained professionals will continue to look for the boy.
Monday July 13
In their only interview, Deorr’s parents explain what happened the previous Friday afternoon. They say they no longer believe he’s lost but think someone may have abducted their son and make a plea for his safe return.
That evening around 200 people gather in Idaho Falls for a candlelight vigil.
Tuesday and Wednesday July 14 & 15
Search efforts continue near the campground. Dive crews focus on the Stone Reservoir located about a quarter of a mile from where the family was camping.
Deorr’s parents remain camped near the site as deputies search the creek once again and determine Deorr is not there.
Thursday July 16
A representative from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children arrives in Leadore. Lemhi County Sheriff Lynn D. Bowerman posts an update on Facebook clarifying remarks on the search.
National media are now covering the story, including HLN’s The Nancy Grace show.
Friday July 17
The Bonneville County Sheriff’s dive team is called in to help search the reservoir. Divers use a sonar robot to assist in foggy waters. Crews on horseback return to the hills near the campground.
Saturday July 18
It’s Deorr’s fathers birthday. He spends the day camped yards away from where his son disappeared. Search efforts continue.
Sunday July 19
It’s been 10 days since Deorr was last seen.
The Timber Creek campground has been searched dozens of times.
Crews have scoured the Stone Reservoir and Creek.
Investigators release few new details and Deorr’s family remains desperate for answers. Up to this point, no evidence has been found to suggest where the two-year-old boy may be.
As this is still an ongoing investigation, unfortunately many details that are of interest are kept away from the public, so I have to work with assumption here, and let's remember that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. From numerous interviews and reports I have picked up on a great deal of inconsistencies that make me take the position of a prosecutor that is alleging the parents have something to do with their toddler's disappearance. Either they caused an accident and are covering it up, or they staged an abduction and "sold" their son in some illegal adoption scheme. Here's why:
- The 911 call: there is not great cell phone reception at the campground. Jessica still places her call with the one bar on her phone, Vernal however claims to have jumped into his truck and driven 0.5 mile (in a different interview it was 1.5 miles) in hopes of an uninterrupted phone call. However, while Jessica is on the phone with the dispatcher, at some point you can clearly hear Vernal talking right next to her. The 911 lady even asks "is that your husband, did he place a separate call?" So he must miraculously have retuned to the campsite within a minute or so. The cell phone impact study that was conducted, determined that Vernal Kunz’s testimony was fabricated and not truthful. Obviously cell phone towers are 3-4 miles apart, so whether he drove 0.5 or 1. miles - either way reception was not likely to become better.
- DeOrr's clothing and general appearance: the 911 operator asked "how tall is your son?" and Jessica was like "umm, I'm not exactly sure." Whaaaaat? Agreed, a toddler is constantly growing, but as his Mom, you always know his current clothing size! She didn't even say "about 34 or 35 inches", she had no clue. The camouflage jacket they claimed the boy was wearing, later turned out when their apartment in Idaho Falls was searched.
- The general fact that they left their son with his great grandfather who suffered from dementia raises bright red flags. The old man seemed to need constant care himself?! And nobody knew this better than Jessica - she was his caregiver at that time. Unless you use the circumstance that Grandpa can't keep track of a fast moving toddler in your favor - in case you want to remove the kid yourself - you would not let your kid under his "supervision". Being a (former?) alcoholic who reportedly brought whiskey to this trip does not add to his trustworthiness.
- The time distance study that was conducted to reenact the walk the parents took and claimed the could still turn around and see their son play next to grandpa revealed that it was physically impossible.
- Interviews (including several (4, resp. 5 ) polygraph tests) with law enforcement and private investigators revealed that the parents could not keep their stories straight and kept making false statements.
- The trips to the gas station, grocery store and restaurant visits the night before and the morning before DeOrr's disappearance sound like a big hoax. Apparently Jessica and Vernal are experienced campers. The trip from their home to the remote campground was 140 miles. Even I - and I have no clue about camping - would make sure I have enough gas as I'm leaving "civilization". So what I think is they either were looking for reasons to be seen in the town of Leadore. Or they took a detour (to get rid of the body?) that used a lot of gas so they needed to refuel. They claim the little boy was running around at the candy aisle, flirting with sales staff and waiters at the restaurant. Many employees and customers were interviewed, and no-one confirmed having seen the boy!? Was he even there?
- Blood evidence was taken from Vernal's truck. They found traces on the wheel base and the bumper of the truck. Unfortunately we do not know about the lab results. When I heard about that fact I immediately thought they backed up while the little boy was playing on the ground, and they honestly didn't see him and ran him over.
- Jessica - like almost any toddler's Mom - took and posted pictures of the little man all the time. There was not a single FB post all weekend long. They went on an adventure, for Christ's sake! And at the very least at Leadore village there was enough cell phone reception and probably even wifi. So that is suspicious to me. If the boy wasn't there, of course no pictures were taken. Somewhere I heard the parents' cell phones were turned off for a period of time. I couldn't confirm this, though.
- Not directly related to the case, but Jessica doesn't strike me as very stable individual. She has two kids from a previous relationship. They live with their Dad as Jessica claimed he was better off financially. Her own fiancé even says she couldn't hold down a job and he wouldn't trust her to make great life decisions. And 11 months after DeOrr's disappearance Vernal and Jessica not only split up but she married a guy she had met a few weeks ago. Really? Their first private investigator discovered that Jessica seemed to have researched adoption in Utah and was considering moving there (for that purpose???)
- Search and rescue dogs as well as cadaver dogs were brought in, and they did not find a shred of clothing, not the oversized boots the boy was wearing, not his toy truck that may have fallen out of his pocket - nothing. So if there were no "hard facts I was thinking I would be desperate enough to consult psychics, tarot readers, anything. This is how I came across this article that suggests several locations to look for the kid.
What do you think happened? Does any of this sound fishy to you? Let me know in the comments down below or better yet, link up your own post.
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