It's been ages since I have posted. Oddly enough, I learned about little Deorr missing while WE ourselves were tent camping in the Cumberland Mountains of SE Tennessee, not far from the Great Smokey Mountains. I chose this area to get to the mountains of Tennessee without the concern of black bears which are so prevelant in the Great Smokey Mountains and Cherkoee National Forest. We had our seven year old grandson with us. We arrived at our campsite right on the lake late Monday afternoon, July 13th. We had no WIFI so heard no news during our eight day adventure. However, a camping neighbor told me about this missing little boy. She had heard about him missing from a friend who said it was believed Deorr had been abducted. Of course, no one had to tell us about the concerns of abductions and never let our grandson out of our sight, not even for a minute. Of course the main difference was while the Deorr's campsite was remote, ours was full of "strangers" and all kinds of people coming and going as well as an Interstate that ran beside the campground. I had researched areas with black bears and chose,not to tent camp in any area KNOWN to have black bears habitating there.
It wasn't until we arrived back to our cabin, also in TN, that I was able to read about this missing little boy. I started researching the predatory animals that live in Salmon-Challis Forest and their characteristics. It immediately seemed to me that the most likely cause of Deorr's disappearance was a mountain lion. A lion could and most likely WOULD just grab a small (25-30 lb) child from behind and within an instant, kill the little boy. Yes, just that fast! No noise, no nothing! Gone - in an instant. The lion would then carry his prey and bury it. He would return to the prey as long as it remained fresh. In other cases of attack by mountain lions, the victim's clothing was located in the stomach contents upon necropsy. The camo shirt and camo boots would be very hard to find and if buried well enough on the forest floor, even impossible to detect. Although clothing from victims has also been found in the stomach on bears, a bear attack does not seem to fit the scenario of Deorr's disappearance. The territory of a mountain lion is vast and most likely way beyond the search. Mountain lions seem to attack children more often than adults.
This case has just shook me to the core. I can honestly say I doubt I will camp again since research has shown that mountain lions DO live in any and all areas that we would camp. Our cabin here in middle Tennessee is surrounded by trees and lots of cover. Supposedly mountain lions are not in this area but there have been sitings on cameras in our county on numerous occasions. I just NEVER before gave mountain lions a thought!
