Retired investigator on Deorr Kunz: ‘This will come to a resolution’
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LEADORE — It’s been two weeks since Deorr Kunz disappeared. There’s been no sign of him at the campground, his family isn’t commenting and investigators are releasing very little new information. Police say they’re continuing to search for the two-year-old Idaho Falls toddler.
EastIdahoNews.com spoke with retired Idaho Fish and Game investigator Tony Latham. Over his 22-year career he investigated several missing person cases and he believes the boy will be found.
“I’m quite satisfied this will come to a resolution,” Latham said in a FaceTime interview from his home in Salmon. “Everything has to be on the table. You do your initial assessment … and focus on what’s the most obvious. At the same time, everything else has to be operating in the background.”
Latham said some theories investigators may be considering include Deorr walking away on his own, the possibility of him being abducted, the idea that he was never at the campsite in the first place or that a wild animal was involved in his disappearance.
“Lemhi County has done close to 300 searches. If it had been a wild animal attack they would have at least found a boot,” Latham said. “I think, by now, the theory should be discounted.”
Detectives tell EastIdahoNews.com Deorr’s parents have been cooperative and Deorr’s great-grandfather, who was at the campsite, has never been a suspect.
Investigators aren’t saying anything about the family friend who was also camping.
Even though few new details are being released, Latham said that doesn’t mean the case isn’t moving forward.
“There are some cameras on the highway on both directions of 93,” Latham said. “I’m sure [they] have been looked … and I’m sure they’re looking more or less under every rock, so to speak, for leads on this case.”
Search crews were hoping for a lead on the Stone Reservoir after K9 dogs picked up a scent near the water.
After days of intense searches, investigators learned someone dumped human cremains into the reservoir. Lemhi County Sheriff Lynn Bowerman said that was the scent the dogs were likely picking up.
If Deorr is in the reservoir, Latham said his body would eventually be found, because cadavers typically rise to surface after three weeks of decomposition.
Investigators, and Deorr’s family, remain hopeful he’s still alive. Latham has faith the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office will solve this case.
“They know those hills and they know how to find people,” Latham said. “If there’s something to be found in that area, they’ll come up with it. It’s important for everyone keep that kid’s face in your mind.”
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