Right: Composite image of how Travis may look at 21 years of age (circa 2009)
Travis Jay Zwieg
Missing since March 10, 1991 from Pinyon Pines, Riverside, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing / Lost
Circumstances of Disappearance
Zwieg was last seen in the hills above Palm Desert in California on March 10, 1991. He disappeared on a Sunday morning in the Santa Rosa Mountains community of Pinyon Pines.
His father had brought him to a concrete-block cabin to spend the weekend. Zwieg was playing with four dogs outside the cabin when he needed to go to the bathroom. His father took him into some bushes about 10:30 a.m., left him there, and went back to work on some saws. When Zwieg hadn't returned 10 minutes later, his father went looking for him. He couldn't find him.
More than 70 rescue workers searched for almost a week after Travis disappeared. Others searched from helicopters with infrared equipment to detect body heat. The last day, 100 inmates from county jails were brought in to search the hillsides before a fierce winter storm hit. The searchers found nothing. Temperatures dropped below freezing at night that week. The storm brought snow, hail and rain. After four nights, officials said he could not have survived. An aerial search two months later using infrared equipment again turned up nothing.
Law enforcement authorities explored the possibility of a kidnapping. They followed several tips that people had been seen with a boy matching Travis' description. None of the tips panned out. Zwieg's parents took lie detector tests and were cleared of any involvement in his disappearance.
If you have any information concerning Zwieg's whereabouts, please contact:
Riverside County Sheriff's Department
All information may be submitted anonymously.
Agency Case Number: 091069011
NCMEC #: NCMC752052
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
California Department of Justice