CA CA - Travis Zwieg, 3, Pinyon Pines, 10 March 1991

JusticeWillBeServed

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2014
Messages
7,647
Reaction score
2,346
NamUs

Doe Network

Charley Project

zwieg_travis.jpg
zwieg_travis_ap.jpg


Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: March 10, 1991 from Riverside, California
• Classification: Lost/Injured Missing
• Date Of Birth: January 6, 1988
• Age: 3 years old
• Height and Weight: 3'0, 35 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes.
• Clothing/Jewelry Description: A red sweatshirt, blue jeans, gray socks, white Gerber sneakers with a blue stripe and Mickey Mouse jockey shorts.

Details of Disappearance
Travis was last seen by his father at about 10:30 a.m. on March 10, 1991. His father was repairing some chainsaws near their cabin in Riverside, California. Travis wandered into some bushes to relieve himself. When he did not return after ten minutes, his father went looking for him. He could not find him anywhere. Travis has never been heard from again.

The cabin was located in a rural, mountainous area. Temperatures dipped below the freezing level in the week following Travis's disappearance. Rescue workers and helicopters with infared technology searched the terrain, but located no evidence indicating the child's whereabouts. After four days of searching, during which time there was a storm with snow, hail, and rain, authorities called off the search and declared that Travis could not have survived the weather conditions. The only possible evidence located in the mountains were shoe prints thought to belong to Travis, half a mile from where he was last seen. There were also marks consistent with sliding or dragging, and animal tracks. The tracks were originally thought to be from a mountain lion, but investigators later stated that they probably belonged to a large dog.

The possibility of abduction was also looked into. Several people reported having seen a boy matching Zweig's description, but these sightings were never confirmed. His case is similar to that of Laura Bradbury, also three years old, who disappeared from Joshua Tree National Park in 1984. Some bone fragments were discovered in 1986 near the site of Bradbury's disappearance and were identified as hers in 1990. That case remains unsolved. Travis's parents both took polygraphs and were ruled out as suspects in their son's case. They have since divorced.

Travis has never been located. His family hopes that he was abducted by someone who wanted to raise a child; if this is the case, he may not know he is a missing child. Travis resided in La Quinta, California at the time of his disappearance. He had an outgoing personality in 1991. His case remains unsolved.

KESQ investigates 26-year search for missing Pinyon Pines boy

Nestled in the mountains above the Coachella Valley off of Highway 74 in Pinyon Pines lies a mystery that's lasted for more than a quarter of a century. It's the story of three-year-old Travis Zwieg, a boy who was last seen with his father at a home on Indio Avenue on March 10th, 1991.

"They had come up here to chop firewood, and Travis was sent outside to go and play with the dogs that were outside, and subsequently disappeared," Captain David Teets with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.

Teets said the initial search for Zweig lasted days on end, with deputies fielding numerous leads as speculation grew as to what may have happened to the little boy.

Now 26 years later, Teets and other deputies continue to search for clues on a case that's had about half a dozen detectives at the helm.

But he said anniversaries like this are what help keep this case and others like it off the shelves, along with renewed interest by new investigators -- and updated information, including a new sketch just released, that depicts what Zwieg may look like at 29 years old, if alive today.

Teets said they'll continue to work to try and find Zwieg, hoping to one day find an answer.

"We're always hopeful obviously that we'll find Travis, (but) time's going to tell," Teets said. "We're hoping that by getting this information out ot the public, and producing an updated sketch of what Travis might look like, we're hoping that will renew some public interest in this case, and that we'll get some leads that we can follow up on."

Family members speak about 26-year search for missing Pinyon Pines boy

Meyers said she was home with her mother and grandparents, while Travis and their father, Kevin Zwieg, headed up to the cabin for a weekend with friends.

Meyers, along with investigators, said Travis disappeared just feet away from where Kevin was cutting wood, and has never been heard from again.

From then on, Zwieg said the search and suspicions began.

"After 15 or 20 minutes, I knew something was wrong and he had been taken,” he said. “There was no way for him to get away from me that fast, and Travis wasn't a little boy that liked to wander. He liked to hang around his dad, and I knew right away there was something wrong."

Zwieg said he and Travis's mother broke up soon after. He moved back near his family in Washington, and said he hasn't spoke with her to this day.

Meanwhile, Meyers said she was put into the foster care system, growing up in different homes around Riverside County.

Distraught Father Vows to Press Hunt for Missing Son, 3 - March 1991

Did a cougar take 3-year-old California boy? - March 1991
 
Something about this case is not setting well with me. I'm not sold on the mountain lion attack theory. However, let's assume that is what happened. How far will a mountain lion drag it's prey to eat it? Would a mountain lion consume clothing, including shoes? Would investigators expect to find evidence besides tracks if a mountain lion attack occurred?
 
The story was updated after I had posted:

http://www.kesq.com/news/special-reports/family-members-speak-about-26-year-search-for-missing-pinyon-pines-boy/446631396

But both Meyers and Zwieg said they believe Travis may have been taken, not by a stranger, but by family.

"I believe that my grandfather or my mother had my brother kidnapped," Meyers said. "I think that my mother knows something. They (Travis's maternal grandparents) didn't like my dad. They didn't like him at all. They had issues with him from day one. They didn't like Travis. My mother and grandmother had taken me shopping that day for some unknown reason. Weekends prior to that, we were up here as a family. But that first weekend, I wasn't here. And he disappeared."

"He wasn't a wanderer," Zwieg said of his son. "He really wouldn't have went with strangers. It happened so fast, and obivously he went away with whoever it was, quite willing. I have the feeling that they (Travis's maternal grandparents) wanted our relationship to go away. They tried several times to make it go away. For them to all of a sudden on a Thursday night say, 'Please stay home with Jessica so we can go shopping,' That was just almost absurd."

After talking with them in our original report, we brought these allegations from Meyers and Zwieg to investigators with the Riverside County Sheriff's Deparment. Investigators said they're looking into gathering more information by reaching out to Travis's other family members. They said no one has been charged in this case.
 
MOD NOTE:

Members who have inside information about a case must be Verified by Websleuths to post. Posts containing inside information have been removed pending verification.

Information as to why WS has this process in place, and how to apply, can be found at the following link:

Verification Process for Professional or Insider Posters

Once a member has been verified, their posts containing inside information will be reinstated.
 
Last edited:
Something about this case is not setting well with me. I'm not sold on the mountain lion attack theory. However, let's assume that is what happened. How far will a mountain lion drag it's prey to eat it? Would a mountain lion consume clothing, including shoes? Would investigators expect to find evidence besides tracks if a mountain lion attack occurred?
Yeah I don't know how I feel about this story either.

I also note a crucial difference. The Charley Project, quoted above, states: "Travis wandered into some bushes to relieve himself. When he did not return after ten minutes, his father went looking for him. He could not find him anywhere."

But the Doe Network now states: "[Travis] was playing with four dogs outside the cabin when he needed to go to the bathroom. His father took him into some bushes about 10:30 a.m., left him there, and went back to work on some saws. When Zwieg hadn't returned 10 minutes later, his father went looking for him. He couldn't find him."

So did Travis go off on his own or did his dad take him? Because to me that changes the story considerably. Why would a father need to take his toddler to the bushes to relieve himself when they're right outside a cabin? Did the cabin not have a bathroom? If not, was there an outhouse or latrine nearby? Was Travis' need so urgent?

Also, the four dogs—you think that at least one of them would start barking if a stranger or wild animal approached.

In the KESQ article quoted above, Travis' dad points suspicions at the mother's side of the family, saying his son "really wouldn’t have went with strangers. It happened so fast, and obivously he went away with whoever it was, quite willing." And that's totally possible, given that there seems to be contention there, and that no screams or barking were reported.

But is 10 minutes really "fast"? If I had a 3-year-old taking 10 minutes to use the bathroom, I'd be concerned that was too long, especially in some random bushes.

Sorry, I'm just thinking out loud...
 
parental neglect again...are all Americans so careless? or they don't love their children... a boy or girl takes very little time to relieve themselves, how can you not take the time to wait for them and for them to stay in a safe place? It seems that it is easier to neglect children in North America...
rest in peace little baby
 

Staff online

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
177
Guests online
3,792
Total visitors
3,969

Forum statistics

Threads
591,848
Messages
17,959,961
Members
228,622
Latest member
crimedeepdives23
Back
Top