Left: Kevin circa, 1982
Right: Age Progressed to age 36
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: September 30, 1982
Missing From: Sugar Bush Township, Beltrami County, Minnesota
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: May 12, 1979
Age: 3 years old
Height and Weight: 4’0″ and 50 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Male, Blonde hair, Blue eyes, Kevin is developmentally disabled and has a hearing impairment; as a result he had limited speech skills, Kevin has a scar on the left side of his chin which was described as cleft
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A checkered shirt, blue jeans, a pair of lace up sneakers, Kevin was last known to be wearing a disposable diaper
NCMEC Number: 600172
Details of Disappearance
Kevin was last seen in Sugar Bush Township, Minnesota on September 30th 1982. He was staying in his family’s summer cabin with his mother, Joann Ayotte and his two older brothers, nine year old Terry and seven year old Jamie. The cabin was located in a rural, densely wooded area located along a gravel road 16 miles northeast of Bemidji, Minnesota.
According to his mother, the child was last seen at 4:45 pm in the upstairs area of the cabin. He playing with some toys in Joann’s bedroom while his brother, Terry, was making his bed in his own room. Terry said he remembered his mom was downstairs cleaning the kitchen windows and that Kevin helped him make his bed before going to their mother’s room to play with his toys. He did when he went to the room to check on him, he was gone.
Terry went downstairs to ask Joann if she had seen Kevin but she hadn’t. They searched the house and yard before contacting a relative to help them look for the toddler. Joann contacted the police at 7:00 pm to report him missing. They also discovered that their six month old Springer Spaniel named Flash was also missing from the home. Police and volunteers conducted an extensive search for Kevin. The search was quoted as being perhaps the largest search effort in the areas history.
The search included over 300 volunteers, 80 law enforcement officers and forest rangers. A man using an airplane with an aerial thermal scanner (heat detecting device) from Grand Forks, North Dakota assisted officials in the search. He said the device would be able to show the heat of a human or animal so he was confident the device could locate Kevin and his dog. However, the search efforts proved fruitless.
The area surrounding Kevin’s home was described as thickly wooded, swampy, and covered in bogs. Several hunters had gotten lost in the woods previously but were located within a couple of hours. The ground and air searches were discontinued when no sign of the boy or his dog could be found.
Due to the fact that neither Kevin nor his dog could be found, police began to suspect the child might’ve been abducted and that whoever took him might’ve also taken Flash. Kevin’s parents were divorced at the time of his disappearance and his father, Terry Ayotte lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was questioned about his son’s disappearance but is not considered a suspect.
On October 5th 1982, Flash was found after he emerged from a field across the road from the Ayotte cabin at 5:00 pm. Upon being examined by a veterinarian, Flash was found to be in good physical condition. He was dry and fairly clean, his fur wasn’t matted and he had plenty of water to drink but not much to eat. An examination of his stomach contents indicated the only thing he ate during his time lost was grass.
After his discovery, authorities hoped to use Flash to help in their search for Kevin thinking he might lead them to the child if he’s released into the woods again. A beeper sensing device was attached to him when he was released into the woods but he returned back home within a few minutes. In a second attempt, investigators drove three quarters of a mile away from the Ayotte cabin and released Flash in an area deeper in the forest. He returned home fifteen to twenty minutes later.
In April of 1983, twenty one searchers combed a thickly wooded area surrounding the Ayotte Cabin in hopes of locating evidence related to Kevin’s disappearance. However, nothing was found during this search to indicate he was anywhere nearby.
Most investigators believed Kevin perished in the wilderness due to exposure due to the rough and swampy terrain surrounding his family’s cabin. Due to lack of evidence, his case is classified as a non-family abduction. Kevin’s disappearance remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Beltrami County Sheriffs Office
218-751-9111
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Winona Daily News 10/02/1982
West Central Tribune 10/02/1982
The Albert Lea Tribune 10/03/1982
The La Crosse Tribune 10/03/1982
The Duluth News-Tribune 10/06/1982
The Albert Lea Tribune 10/07/1982
The Winona Daily News 04/23/1983