Case file · Anomaly hotspot
Derrick Engebretson, Winema National Forest
An 8-year-old boy disappeared while cutting a Christmas tree with his father and grandfather near Rocky Point, Oregon, on 5 December 1998.
1998 CE · 42.49, -122.09 · status: unexplained
The account
Derrick Engebretson went off briefly on his own with a hatchet while the adults looked for a tree; when they regrouped he was gone. A blizzard that evening covered any tracks, and searches including FBI ground-penetrating radar found nothing. Investigators later examined whether a convicted child offender in the region could have been involved, without result. The Klamath County Sheriff's Office still lists him as missing.
The sceptical view
Snow, cold and forest are enough to explain the loss; abduction has also been investigated.