OR DANE PAULSEN: Missing from Siletz, OR - 1 March 2025 - Age 2 *Found Deceased*

Search on for 2-year-old Oregon boy who disappeared while playing in front yard

Authorities near Portland, Oregon said they were searching for a 2-year-old boy last seen playing in his home's front yard but out of sight of his parents.

www.cbsnews.com

Search on for 2-year-old Oregon boy who disappeared while playing in front yard​

Authorities in Oregon are searching for a 2-year-old boy last seen playing in his home's front yard but out of sight of his parents, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office says.

Dane Paulsen was reported missing around 4:25 p.m. Saturday, the office said in a statement on social media.

Members of the sheriff's office and fire and police agencies searched the property and surrounding areas on foot and with drones with thermal imaging equipment Saturday, the office said.

On Sunday, search and rescue teams were conducting methodical searches of an area north of the small city of Siletz, near the Siletz River, using divers, drones, dogs and watercraft, the sheriff's office said. Volunteers who wanted to help were urged to stay out of the main search area.

Almost 300 people were involved in the search, the sheriff's office said.

As of Sunday evening, 382 acres had been searched and 283 miles covered, the office noted.

A vehicle and male driver Dane's parents didn't know who were spotted near Dane's home around the time he was last seen were found and were "no longer a point of interest," the office said Sunday evening.

The office said an Amber Alert hasn't been issued because Dane's "disappearance does not meet the criteria to use the Amber Alert system," adding that, "There is no evidence at this time to suggest criminal actions are involved in this incident."

"Dane is friendly and fearless, and is comfortable around strangers and water, but cannot swim. Dane is known to love water and vehicles," the sheriff's office pointed out.


media: DANE PAULSEN: Missing from Siletz, OR - 1 March 2025 - Age 2

 

[Guess Who]

Yeah, I'm not understanding why he is charged and not her.

Father of 2-year-old Siletz boy who drowned last March indicted for second-degree child neglect

The father of a 2-year-old boy who drowned in the Siletz River in March after last being seen playing in his yard has been charged with neglect.

www.klcc.org

Lincoln Chronicle was unable to reach the lawyer representing Paulsen. Dane’s mother, Chamet Jackson, told KATU News that her husband had just gotten home when Dane went missing and denied he played a role in their son’s death.

Was it a case where mom told dad he was in charge of watching him and there is proof he did something where he wasn't watching him at all? I can't see where dad would be charged and mom not if she hadn't specifically told him he was in charge when she went across the yard to her dad's camper.

 

[Guess Who]

How long was the "period of time" that he wasn't being monitored?

People in my office are discussing this arrest and no one is happy about it.

Or did dad observe him near the river's edge and go back inside? That's the only thing I can come up with of why he was charged and mom wasn't.

 

[Guess Who]

this part from the above article perplexes me of why dad is charged and mom isn't. She was the last to see him from this.

Just before Dane disappeared, Jackson was checking on her father in his backyard trailer when Dane came running from the house to find her.
“Dane goes out the back door and comes straight to the trailer, I hear him he goes ‘bippity boop boop,’ and I was like, ‘oh bubby I’m coming,’” Jackson said. “And then he laughs so oddly, like laughing like somebody’s tickling him. And then it’s silence. And I was like ‘Dane, Dane!’”
When Jackson went outside, Dane was gone.

 

[Tresir]

It's just tragic whoever's fault it was. Maybe she called "watch Dane while i go see Dad" and he said 'yeah, Ok." But then he didn't watch him. But why did it take so long to find him in the river 10 days later? 3 miles downstream too so about a third of a mile a day he drifted. As soon as he was discovered missing wouldn't the river be where you checked first?

 

[GrandmaBear]

I'm on a wait and see as to what their reasons are.

 

[GrandmaBear]

this part from the above article perplexes me of why dad is charged and mom isn't. She was the last to see him from this.

Just before Dane disappeared, Jackson was checking on her father in his backyard trailer when Dane came running from the house to find her.
“Dane goes out the back door and comes straight to the trailer, I hear him he goes ‘bippity boop boop,’ and I was like, ‘oh bubby I’m coming,’” Jackson said. “And then he laughs so oddly, like laughing like somebody’s tickling him. And then it’s silence. And I was like ‘Dane, Dane!’”
When Jackson went outside, Dane was gone.

I think she heard him, not saw him. And that's if that is true. I'm not saying it isn't but she seems to want to think this was an abduction/murder.

All I can think of is dad was to be watching him and she assumed the dad was with him when she heard him or at least was watching him.

Maybe the routine every day is for her to check on dad when the hub gets home and he is in charge of the boy.

I hate to see parents already in serious pain and experiencing grief being charged on top of it (unless responsible of course), so I can only trust they have real reasons for the charge. I'd hope anyhow.

 

[Kimster]

I think she heard him, not saw him. And that's if that is true. I'm not saying it isn't but she seems to want to think this was an abduction/murder.

All I can think of is dad was to be watching him and she assumed the dad was with him when she heard him or at least was watching him.

Maybe the routine every day is for her to check on dad when the hub gets home and he is in charge of the boy.

I hate to see parents already in serious pain and experiencing grief being charged on top of it (unless responsible of course), so I can only trust they have real reasons for the charge. I'd hope anyhow.

Your last sentence is what's bothering me! YEARS ago I knew of a family where the dad was backing up in the driveway and killed his child on accident. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. They have to live with it the rest of their lives. Jail can't be worse. We don't need to start this kind of a thing when actual CRIMINALS are being released early to prey on new victims! There BETTER be a really good explanation for this arrest.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I agree. I don't want to see it either if that is the case. By the way, we had a case just like that here where a father backed over his child. There was also one in which a brother backed over one of his almost teen sister who was sunbathing and he did not see her on the ground behind the car of course or nearby as he backed up. I have never forgotten either case yet they were long ago. I knew members of each family through school and other things, after the fact though. Neither was charged to my recollectioand both were pure accidents.

Yes, they live with it always and that's bad enough. I in no way want someone charged for something like that.

I'm on a wait and see here as I said. If it is wrong, they will get a public backlash so I'd think LE had good reason. As you more or less said, they'd darned well better have a good reason.

 

[Guess Who]

I would now like to know how long it was before mom heard him and when dad last laid eyes on him because we all know toddlers can be FAST! Dad could have simply walked into another room for an instant and then came back and not find him. It happens. I could possibly say dad was negligent if it was found out he was getting sloshed or doing drugs while he was supposed to be watching him, but accidents happen and can happen really quick and absolutely nobody is to blame.

 

[GrandmaBear]

That's the problem, we don't know what their reasons are.

I'd mention one other probably unpopular possibility and that's that some parents are very lax in watching their kids all of the time. Even kids of this age. That could be the case too and they've just been lucky until now. Some maybe consider checking on them out a window every five minutes to be enough. Or maybe one parent is irresponsible like that and the other isn't.

I'm not saying that's the case but it is possible.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/father-dane-paulsen-boy-drown-siletz-river-plead-not-guilty-neglect/

Father of Dane Paulsen, boy who drowned in Siletz River, pleads not guilty to neglect​

On Monday, Aaron Paulsen pleaded not guilty to second-degree child neglect following a Lincoln County grand jury’s indictment last week. He is accused of leaving his son unattended for a period of time that was likely to endanger him, according to court documents.

“What the state anticipate the evidence will show is that … that his father watched him walk out the door, knowing that there was no other adult outside to supervise and did not follow after him, and that Dane was left unattended for about 15 minutes before parents noticed that he was missing,” Lincoln County District Attorney Jenna Wallace said.

 

[Kimster]

https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/father-dane-paulsen-boy-drown-siletz-river-plead-not-guilty-neglect/

Father of Dane Paulsen, boy who drowned in Siletz River, pleads not guilty to neglect​

On Monday, Aaron Paulsen pleaded not guilty to second-degree child neglect following a Lincoln County grand jury’s indictment last week. He is accused of leaving his son unattended for a period of time that was likely to endanger him, according to court documents.

“What the state anticipate the evidence will show is that … that his father watched him walk out the door, knowing that there was no other adult outside to supervise and did not follow after him, and that Dane was left unattended for about 15 minutes before parents noticed that he was missing,” Lincoln County District Attorney Jenna Wallace said.

Seriously? I have a neighbor who lets his little one out there way too much without supervision.
He’ll be working on his truck and run inside the house and then come back out. The whole neighborhood is not happy about it. Is he going to be arrested if something happens? I think the “something happened” is punishment enough, like @SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said way up thread somewhere. This might open a door that we are probably not ready for. If this case goes through and he is found guilty, there’s going to be some big changes when parents find out they can be arrested for letting their child go out the door alone.

If society believes that this needs to be enforced, then they need to start spreading some major education and awareness to the public.

 

[GrandmaBear]

It has been charged before and appropriately so in some other cases. Is it appropriate here? I don't know and am still waiting for more info.

I will say 15 minutes is a LONG time where a two year old is concerned. It's a long time where a four year old is concerned but at least they have a bit more reasoning power i.e., if I wander off dad told me not to and I'll be in big trouble, so I better not.

I don't know. On a wait and see.

 

[Guess Who]

Seriously? I have a neighbor who lets his little one out there way too much without supervision.
He’ll be working on his truck and run inside the house and then come back out. The whole neighborhood is not happy about it. Is he going to be arrested if something happens? I think the “something happened” is punishment enough, like @SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said way up thread somewhere. This might open a door that we are probably not ready for. If this case goes through and he is found guilty, there’s going to be some big changes when parents find out they can be arrested for letting their child go out the door alone.

If society believes that this needs to be enforced, then they need to start spreading some major education and awareness to the public.

This is seein5g the stage to where a parent wouldn't even be able to take a shower without any/all the children actually being in the shower with the parent. Yes, you "should" have eyes on little ones at at times, but that is just impossible.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Not trying to argue but 15 minutes outside (at least) with a two year old is a long time unsupervised and it's outside with a body of water nearby.

When my daughter was two, we were on a lake and I was majorly paranoid about it. She was never outside alone and no I did not shower with her alone in the home either.

Not judging that but even if so, outside is different.

We didn't have a shower, just a tub. Sit her on the floor with toys or take her in with. Or wait until hub is there (if no hub, take with).

Still on a wait and see on this one though.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/i-just-want-answers-mother-recounts-tragic-death-of-2-year-old-son-in-siletz-river/

‘I just want answers’: Mother recounts tragic death of 2-year-old son in Siletz River​

The mother at the center of a tragedy that shook Lincoln County is telling KOIN 6 News her point of view after losing a child.

Chamet Jackson, Dane’s mother, says she thinks there are still loose ends after a massive investigation. Meanwhile, Aaron Paulsen, her partner and the boy’s father, pleaded not guilty to a child neglect charge.

Since the day Dane disappeared, Jackson says she’s been living a nightmare, arguing the recent charges against her partner have only reopened old wounds. Months after the toddler went missing, she says she’s still fighting for answers in her son’s death.

“I just want answers, and I feel like I deserve some answers for Dane. I don’t think any parent should have to go through what we’re doing,” Jackson said.


“What the state anticipates the evidence will show is that he was left in the care of his father, that his father watched him walk out the door, knowing that there was no other adult outside to supervise and did not follow after him,” said Lincoln County District Attorney Jenna Wallace.

“It’s reliving a nightmare and inducing emotional trauma that is long-lasting,” said Jackson, adding that she wants to know what investigators did to follow up on the car seen nearby.

While the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office later cleared the driver, Jackson argues other details still don’t add up.


In a statement, Lincoln County DA Wallace said, “The number of investigative resources devoted to Dane Paulsen’s disappearance and death, including the exploration of other possible explanations, was extraordinary and exhaustive.”

Jackson said she will continue to be the voice of her son, Dane, remembered as a rambunctious and curious bundle of joy to all.

“It’s not that I don’t respect my law enforcement. I do, and I’m grateful for all of them, but it doesn’t dismiss my questions for Dane,” Jackson said. “You’re labeled as some hysterical mother who won’t quit — What parent would quit?”


Rich Cohen, Aaron Paulsen’s attorney, sent a statement to KOIN 6 News reaffirming his client’s innocence.

“My client’s entry of a plea of not guilty can be accurately viewed as a public assertion of his innocence,” Cohen said.

KOIN 6 News also received the following statement from Lincoln County DA Jenna Wallace in response to our inquiry for a comment:

“The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Lincoln County Major Crime Team and the FBI, thoroughly investigated all feasible leads and community tips in the disappearance of Dane Paulsen. Regardless of the evidence pointing to Dane wandering down to the river unattended, 40+ detectives and investigators continued to pursue and exhaust any alternative, workable leads. At the conclusion of this lengthy, multi-agency investigation, verifiable evidence pointed to Dane being at the river’s edge before falling in. An autopsy confirmed his cause of death was drowning with no additional trauma to his body. The number of investigative resources devoted to Dane Paulsen’s disappearance and death, including the exploration of other possible explanations, was extraordinary and exhaustive.

“The district attorney’s office presented this investigation to the grand jury to ensure community oversight in a tender-age child fatality, while also seeking community discernment regarding potential criminal liability on such a devastating set of circumstances. The grand jury heard evidence regarding the investigative efforts into alternative theories of Dane’s disappearance. This evidence did not dissuade them in their decision to indict Aaron Paulsen for his neglect of Dane on March 1, 2025.”