2-year-old vanishes while playing outside, Oregon cops say. He’s been missing for days
UPDATE: Dane Paulsen was found dead March 11 in the Siletz River, 10 days after the toddler vanished from his Oregon home, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said.
The original story is below.
A 2-year-old boy vanished while playing outside in Oregon, deputies said.
Now rescuers are scouring hundreds of miles for the child who has been missing for about two days with search efforts continuing on Monday, March 3, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
Dane Paulsen was last seen March 1 at his home near Siletz, deputies said.
The home is near milepost 21 on Oregon Route 229, also called the “Siletz Highway,” deputies said.
He had been playing in his front yard “out of sight of his parents,” deputies said.
When his parents realized he was gone, they called 911 at about 4:25 p.m., deputies said.
Search teams rapidly set out to find the missing toddler.
In the first 24 hours after his disappearance, deputies said “382 acres have been searched and 283 miles have been covered.”
Efforts have included 88 search team members, four watercrafts, divers, drones, police dogs, 40 investigators and 138 community volunteers, deputies said.
Divers searched a nearby river, and the FBI joined the investigation, deputies said.
Dane is described as being friendly and loving water, but he cannot swim, deputies said.
He has brown hair and green eyes, and was last seen wearing a gray fuzzy hood with ears, blue and white shoes and black pants.
A male driver was initially reported to have been near the home about 30 minutes before the child’s disappearance, but deputies said he is “no longer a point of interest.”
Deputies said there is no evidence to suggest a crime has happened.
Residents interested in helping with the search can go to a staging area and check in with the camp’s host at Elks Toketee Illahee Campground at 20590 Siletz Highway in Siletz.
Anyone with information about Dane’s whereabouts can call authorities at 541-265-0669.
An AMBER Alert was not issued as his case does not meet criteria, deputies said.
Recommended guidelines from the U.S. Department of Justice suggest there needs to be reasonable belief the child was abducted.
Siletz is about an 80-mile drive southwest from Salem.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 11:54 AM with the headline "2-year-old vanishes while playing outside, Oregon cops say. He’s been missing for days."
