Boy, 8, Vanished Nearly 20 Years Ago After Running into the Woods at National Park. His Dad Still Wonders What Happened

The search for a young boy who vanished after running into the woods in Oregon has resumed.

Samuel Boehlke was just 8 years old when he was last seen around 4 p.m. local time on Oct. 14, 2006, in Crater Lake National Park, according to a bulletin from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Also known as Sammie, Samuel had been walking with his father near the Cleetwood Cove trailhead “when the boy suddenly ran into the woods,” the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

His father called out to him to stop, but according to the sheriff’s office, “the boy continued to run, and ultimately disappeared.”

Several searches have been conducted for Samuel since October 2006. Now, nearly two decades later, authorities have renewed efforts to locate him.

The sheriff’s office said it was one of several agencies that conducted searches around Crater Lake over the weekend of Sept. 20.

Kirsten Becker, Samuel’s mother, told USA Today that her son has autism. She added that she has stayed in contact with many of the “glorious” volunteers who originally searched for him, some of whom now lead the agencies still looking for Samuel.

“It should have been easy, and we should have been able to find him, and that’s frustrating to them,” Becker said.

She emphasized that she does not blame her ex-husband for what happened, noting that he did everything he could to find their son.

“He was absolutely devastated by this,” she said.

Kenneth Boehlke, Samuel’s father, told the newspaper that he and the FBI believe his son may have thought running into the woods “was just a game.”

He also explained that Samuel enjoyed searching for yellow pumice stones, which he called “gold,” at Crater Lake.

A snowstorm hindered the initial search, according to the sheriff’s office, and despite extensive efforts, Samuel has not been found.

“Anything they can do to find something related to him so we can put him to rest would be great,” Kenneth said. “We still wonder exactly what happened.”

Becker holds hope that her son might be found but fears the worst. “You just always want evidence,” she told the newspaper.

Samuel was last seen wearing a long-sleeved black-and-green striped shirt, cargo pants, a blue winter coat, and red suede shoes, authorities said.

“We are proud of our Search and Rescue volunteers for the dedication and diligence they demonstrate during both urgent rescue operations and decades-old missing persons cases,” the sheriff’s office added.

Anyone with information about Samuel’s disappearance is asked to contact the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office at 1-541-883-7479.