What Really Happened to Derrick Engebretson?

On December 5, 1998, eight year old Derrick Engebretson went with his dad and grandfather to pick up the holiday Christmas tree at Rocky Point area of the Winema National Forest, in Klamath County, Oregon when something went wrong. Derrick somehow got separated from his dad and grandfather and vanished into thin air. At first it was believed that Derrick simply wandered off into the nearby woods. To make matters worse, the next day after his disappearance, a massive snow storm hit the area disabling the search efforts for Derrick.

In the days after Derrick's disappearance, a witness came forward and said that they saw a man struggling with a young boy inside a vehicle near the area where Derrick vanished. Almost six years after Derrick's disappearance, a man named Frank Milligan was charged with murdering another 10 year old boy, became a prime suspect in Derrick's disappearance case.
It has never been confirmed that Milligan was indeed the man who took Derrick that fateful day at the Christmas tree farm, but it's quite possible. This story touched my heart when I first read about it. A young child looking forward to the holidays, vanishes without a trace, possibly taken by a sexual deviant. Please remember Derrick as December 5, 2005 arrives. He would be 14 years old now. May God bless him no matter where he is tonight. Christmas is for the children to enjoy. I hate to think of any one of them being taken away at any time, especially during the holidays. My thoughts are with all missing and murdered people and their families during this time. Derrick is still missing but not forgotten.

Related Links:
Child rapist suspected of missing boy's murder
Derrick James Engebretson

Today's blog entry is dedicated to Carrie Culberson and all other missing and murdered people.