Missing Boy: Derrick Engebretson--OR--12/05/1998

[Jenn]

http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/MCC/engebretson_derrick.shtml

Derrick Engebretson



Derrick Engebretson, his father and grandfather were looking for a Christmas tree in the Rocky Point area of the Winema National Forest in Klamath County on December 5, 1998.  He became separated from them and has not been seen since.  He has a scar from a dog bite on his chin, between the nostrils and under the nose. The Klamath County Sheriff´s Office is handling the investigation.
 
Missing Date: 12/05/1998
Race: White
Sex: Male
Current Age: 17
Hair Color: Brown
Hair Type: Straight
Eyes: Hazel
Height: 4´6"
Weight: 85 lbs
Missing From: Bonanza, Oregon, USA
Type of Abduction: Endangered Missing

A Toll-Free Hotline: (1-800-282-7155) is maintained by the Clearinghouse to receive any information on missing children. Clearinghouse business number 503-934-0188.

[Jenn]

http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1228723761116980.xml&storylist=orlocal

Oregon boy still missing after 10 years

12/8/2008, 12:02 a.m. PST
The Associated Press       

BONANZA, Ore. (AP) -- A tree decorated with teddy bears and ornaments remains near the spot where the family pickup was parked the day 8-year-old Derrick Engebretson disappeared in December 1998.

The boy was last seen by his grandfather, who sent Derrick up a hill with a hatchet to help his father cut down a Christmas tree on the flanks of Pelican Butte on the Winema National Forest.

Ten years have passed, but Lori and Robert Engebretson of Bonanza continue to hope that Derrick somehow made it off Pelican Butte alive. The couple still searches on occasion, but the steep, rugged terrain near the northern end of Upper Klamath Lake has become an impediment.
 
"I am not as young as I used to be," Lori Engebretson said.

Derrick's disappearance led to a massive search with dogs, snowmobiles and hundreds of volunteers. The boy was never found and was presumed to have frozen to death in a snowstorm.

That theory came into question when an inmate claimed that Frank J. Milligan had bragged about abducting and killing the boy, sources close to the case told The Oregonian in 2004.

When confronted, Milligan, who had been sentenced to 36 years in prison for raping and assaulting a 10-year-old boy in Dallas, Ore., confessed to killing Derrick and agreed to lead detectives to the place where he claimed to have buried the boy's body. But nothing was found, and Milligan later recanted the confession, according to police and Engebretson's family.

Lori Engebretson says Milligan continues to be a suspect.

Detective Jeff Lord of the Klamath County Sheriff's Office declined to comment when asked if he has singled out Milligan as a suspect. Lord has hiked the terrain surrounding Pelican Butte several times. He says the area has become more difficult to search as the brush has thickened.

The detective, who keeps a picture of Derrick near his desk, said the case remains open. "We won't give up," Lord said. "You don't give up on these cases."

[Jenn]

http://kdrv.com/page/69654

December 5, 2008
 
NEAR CRATER LAKE, Ore. -- Friday marks the 10-year anniversary of the disappearance of an eight-year-old Klamath County boy.
 
Derrick Engebretson was searching for a Christmas tree with his father and grandfather when he wandered off and then disappeared. Hundreds of volunteers, family members, and investigators with the Klamath County Sheriff's Office searched for Derrick for weeks.
 
Investigators say he may have been picked up by Frank J. Milligan, who plead guilty in July 2001 in the attempted murder and sexual abuse of a 10-year-old boy from Dallas, Oregon. Police say Milligan confessed to kidnapping Derrick, then recanted his statement. OSP investigators have said Milligan is still the lead suspect in the case.
 
Derrick's other grandfather, Ben Davis, who wasn't with Derrick the day he disappeared, believes Derrick made it out of the woods and onto the side of the road.
 
"I knew my grandson was picked up. I knew that in my heart, and we haven't proved anything," says Davis.
 
Derrick's sister, Amy Creveling, who was 17 at the time of his disappearance, says she's suffered from anxiety and depression since that day.
 
"He's still constantly there, he's still in my thoughts, he's in my prayers, he's still in our lives... even though he's not," says Creveling.
 
Klamath County sheriff's say the case is active and being revisited by a different investigator.

[La Vina]

Age-progressed to 18 years



Derrick James Engebretson

DOB:  Jul 5, 1990
Missing:  Dec 5, 1998
Height:  4'6" (137 cm)
Eyes:  Hazel
Race:  White
Age at disappearance:  8
Sex:  Male
Weight:  85 lbs (39 kg)
Hair:  Brown
Missing From:
Bonanza, Oregon
United States 

Derrick's photo is shown age-progressed to 18 years. He became separated from his father and grandfather while they were looking for a Christmas tree in the Rocky Point area of the Winema National Forest in Klamath County, Oregon on December 5, 1998. He has a scar from a dog bite on his chin, between the nostrils and under the nose.

Contact Information:
Klamath County Sheriff's Office (Oregon)
1-541-883-5130 or 1-541-883-7479

Print a Poster: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=857924&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US

[La Vina]

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3332dmor.html

The Doe Network: Case File 3332DMOR - Derrick James Engebretson

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/e/engebretson_derrick.html

The Charley Project: Derrick James Engebretson

[Jenn]

A link to a blog with more pictures, a timeline etc about Derrick's case:
http://derrickengebretson.blogspot.com/

[Jenn]

Article from 2008:

http://www.katu.com/news/local/35717549.html

A decade ago, a boy went to cut down a Christmas tree...

By Associated Press
Story Published: Dec 8, 2008 at 8:19 AM PST Updated: Dec 8, 2008 at 3:56 PM PST

BONANZA, Ore. (AP) - A tree decorated with teddy bears and ornaments remains near the spot where the family pickup was parked the day 8-year-old Derrick Engebretson disappeared in December 1998.

The boy was last seen by his grandfather, who sent Derrick up a hill with a hatchet to help his father cut down a Christmas tree on the flanks of Pelican Butte on the Winema National Forest.

Ten years have passed, but Lori and Robert Engebretson of Bonanza continue to hope that Derrick somehow made it off Pelican Butte alive. The couple still searches on occasion, but the steep, rugged terrain near the northern end of Upper Klamath Lake has become an impediment.

"I am not as young as I used to be," Lori Engebretson said.

Derrick's disappearance led to a massive search with dogs, snowmobiles and hundreds of volunteers. The boy was never found and was presumed to have frozen to death in a snowstorm.

That theory came into question when an inmate claimed that Frank J. Milligan had bragged about abducting and killing the boy, sources close to the case told The Oregonian in 2004.

When confronted, Milligan, who had been sentenced to 36 years in prison for raping and assaulting a 10-year-old boy in Dallas, Ore., confessed to killing Derrick and agreed to lead detectives to the place where he claimed to have buried the boy's body. But nothing was found, and Milligan later recanted the confession, according to police and Engebretson's family.

Lori Engebretson says Milligan continues to be a suspect.

Detective Jeff Lord of the Klamath County Sheriff's Office declined to comment when asked if he has singled out Milligan as a suspect. Lord has hiked the terrain surrounding Pelican Butte several times. He says the area has become more difficult to search as the brush has thickened.

The detective, who keeps a picture of Derrick near his desk, said the case remains open. "We won't give up," Lord said. "You don't give up on these cases."

[LoriDavis]

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/6037/0/
NamUs profile for Derrick Engebretson - Case 6037