'The search is over:' Diver finds remains of missing Oregon boy Dane Paulsen in river
The search for missing Oregon toddler Dane Paulsen is finally over.
Juan Heredia, a diver with Angels Recovery Dive Team, traveled over 600 miles on Monday to help the Paulsen family locate Dane, who went disappeared from the front yard of his home in Oregon March 1.
"Tomorrow, I’ll be heading straight to Oregon to search for Dane," Heredia wrote on Facebook Sunday night. "I’ll be camping by the shore and diving as much as I can, doing everything possible to find him. His family is waiting for answers, and I won’t stop until I’ve done everything in my power to bring him back."
Search and rescue teams and volunteers looked for Paulsen for over a week, searching hundreds of miles. On March 4, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office announced they were shifting their focus to the Siletz River, deploying boats and divers in an effort to help locate the 2-year-old.
"So far the evidence available indicates Dane was at river’s edge before his disappearance,” Lincoln County Sheriff Sgt. Jason Spano said at a press conference earlier this month.
Heredia, who has brought closure to eight families since March 2023, told Paste BN on Wednesday that he found Dane within two hours of starting his search.
"This, I will say was my worst case, because it's a baby. It's gonna be very hard to get out all the images that are fresh in my head right now," Heredia said. "Baby Dane already changed my life forever."
Diver can't bear to see families suffer
Heredia was on vacation with his wife in Mexico when he received messages from volunteers and relatives about Dane's case. He told them that he would make the trek from his home in Stockton, California to Siletz, Oregon if Dane wasn't found before he got back.
"I came back on Sunday night and left on Monday morning," Heredia said. "I drove twelve hours to Oregon then dove Tuesday at 9 a.m. I found him in two hours."
Heredia, who began to dive at age 18 in his native Argentina, never expected to be doing what he's doing now because his interest in diving was more recreational, a way to see fish and coral. But the mortgage lender is "glad he can help" and "give back to this country."
"I have experience in Argentina from a long time ago, but to see the suffering the family and to see that I have the skills to do it, I decide to help," Heredia said. "I never expect I am gonna help more than one family, then everybody starts sending me message because this was a big case. I can't say no."
The recovery missions began on March 21, 2023, when he helped locate the remains of 15-year-old Xavier Martinez, who disappeared after jumping into the Calaveras River after a fight between four students broke out at Stagg High School in Stockton, California.
Since finding Xavier, Heredia has located the remains of eight other people across the country. He was also formally recognized by the Stockton City Council in April 2024 after helping in the search for Xavier, according to reporting by the Stockton Record, part of the Paste BN Network.
Investigation into toddler's disappearance is 'ongoing'
The investigation into Dane's disappearance is going, with the Sheriff's Office reporting that they were working closely with the Lincoln County Medical Examiner's Office.
The Sheriff's Office declined to release any additional details but has stated there was "no evidence of criminal activity in the case." WMUR9 reported.
"Our thoughts are with the family, who are facing an unbearable sorrow," Lincoln County Sheriff Adam Shanks said in a news release. "We are deeply grateful for the support and dedication shown by the search teams and our communities throughout this difficult time, though we wish it was under different circumstances."
Dane's family set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help "assist the Paulsens during this crisis." As of Wednesday evening, the fundraiser has raised over $22,000.
Contributing: Isabel Funk, Salem Statesman Journal, Paste BN Network