WY WY - Dennis Eugene Johnson, 8, Yellowstone National Park, 12 Apr 1966

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Gardener1850

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[h=1]Dennis Eugene Johnson[/h]
  • dennis_eugene_johnson_1.jpg
Dennis, circa 1966



  • Missing Since 04/12/1966
  • Missing From Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
  • Classification Lost/Injured Missing
  • Age 8 years old
  • Height and Weight 3'8, 60 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A dark red or magenta long-sleeved shirt, tan Levi's pants and size 8 laced moccasin-type leather hiking boots with crepe soles.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Sandy blond hair, brown eyes. Dennis's nickname is Denny. He has a six-inch scar on his abdomen running through his navel.


[h=3]Details of Disappearance[/h] Dennis is from Inyokern, California and was camping with his parents and sisters at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming when he disappeared on April 12, 1966. His seven-year-old sister had gotten lost and he and his father were searching for her in the forest when they decided to split up.

Dennis was last seen walking away from his wife at the Cascade Picnic Area, a quarter-mile north of Canyon Junction, at 1:30 p.m. His father found Dennis's sister, but Dennis has never been heard from again and an extensive, two-week-long search of the camp turned up no indication of his whereabouts, not even his footprints.

Dennis had prior wilderness experiences from going on hunting trips in California with his father in the past, and knew basic survival skills. He is presumed to have become lost or injured in the wilderness, but it's possible he was picked up by a passing motorist on the park road. His disappearance is considered one of Yellowstone's greatest unsolved mysteries.

http://charleyproject.org/case/dennis-eugene-johnson

Circumstances: MP was last seen in the picnic area 1/4" mile north of Canyon Jct. The family-father, mother and sister were visiting YNP and stayed on site at the park for 2 weeks after the MP went missing, before returning home to Inyokern, Ca.

Dental information / charting is currently not available

DNA Status: Initial inquiry underway

Fingerprint information is currently not available

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/23115/
 
I just saw this case on social media. I'm sure his father thought Dennis would be okay helping search and wouldn't go too far. Imagine the feelings later. How awfully tragic, poor family.
 
What does it mean he was last seen walking away from his wife? The father saw him walk away from his wife? Someone else saw him walk away from the mom? Why didn't the wife go out looking instead of an 8 year old?

Sorry to be suspicious but even in the 60's, when children were allowed to run free (I'm old enough to remember, be home before dark or when the street lights come on) why would you let a child go out to look for another child who was lost? It's not like they were at home and you sent him out to search the neighborhood.

Were there other adults there? Other campers to help?
 
What does it mean he was last seen walking away from his wife? The father saw him walk away from his wife? Someone else saw him walk away from the mom? Why didn't the wife go out looking instead of an 8 year old?

Sorry to be suspicious but even in the 60's, when children were allowed to run free (I'm old enough to remember, be home before dark or when the street lights come on) why would you let a child go out to look for another child who was lost? It's not like they were at home and you sent him out to search the neighborhood.

Were there other adults there? Other campers to help?
Apparently, his father, William, was very confident about his son's skills. I suppose they focused on Mary, the lost girl, and they took a decision they will regret forever.
Here you can find some extra details about the case: A Picnic In Yellowstone: Where Is Dennis Johnson? • These Are The Unsolved
 
dennis_eugene_johnson_en_ci.png
Dennis Eugene Johnson, age 8
Missing since 12 April 1966

LINKS:




 
JUN 29, 2024
Officially, the park doesn’t appear to track the missing. When asked for a list of missing people, the Yellowstone Park Public Affairs Office referred Cowboy State Daily to the national park’s cold case database containing 25 missing persons cold cases for all national parks.

Campbell was the only person cited on the list to have gone missing in Yellowstone. Of the others, nine went missing in Yosemite State National Park in California while five disappeared in Grand Canyon National Park.

The other five missing persons who disappeared in Yellowstone were culled from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s missing person database and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

Along with Campbell, those never found include Luke Sanburg, Bruce Pike, Stuart Isaac, Kim Crumbo and 8-year-old Dennis Johnson, all of whom disappeared in the park between 1966 and 2021.
 
Officially, the park doesn’t appear to track the missing. ...Campbell was the only person cited on the list to have gone missing in Yellowstone.

Quote snipped by me.
They really should try to keep an official list, IMO. I suppose it's easier to leave it up to LE, but I feel most states don't at all prioritize getting all of their cases into NamUs. (Don't know about Wyoming.)
 

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