Around 10:30pm a group of nine boys from Elberta and Goshen drove up Pinyon Creek Canyon to a dirt trail by some old mines. They planned to have a paintball war in a burned forest on a flat-top knoll to the east of the mines. They parked a car and a truck near the base of the hill and followed a dirt trail up the west side. On top, they built a fire and established a base camp near the southern brow of the hill. The two youngest boys, Lucas, 12, and John, 13, stayed with the fire while their older brothers and the other boys formed teams and moved into the forest to the north and west with their paintball guns. They started their game around 11:30pm.

The wind was steady from the southwest, and the temperature dropped from 53F to 42F. The younger boys built up the fire and pulled emergency blankets around themselves to keep warm. Lucas and John waited for their brothers. Lucas’ older brother, Asher, came into camp to check on the boys around 12:15am, then went back to the game. Around 1:30am, John decided he was going to wait in the truck. He took a flashlight and walked away from the campfire to the east, in the direction Asher had gone when he last left camp. He planned to find his brother and get the truck key. Lucas stayed by the fire. He saw John walk toward the brow of the hill, but he couldn’t tell where he went after that. John still had the emergency blanket wrapped around his shoulders when he left.

None of the boys reported seeing John after they left him at the campfire to begin the game. John was wearing tan cargo pants, a blue tee shirt, and a navy blue hat. He had on a gray sweatshirt and a lightweight red jacket. He was carrying the flashlight and the emergency blanket. He probably had candy in his pockets, but he carried no water.

Back to top