Willow, Alaska, is recognized as the beginning venue of the state’s noted Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. In 1989, one month after the Iditarod’s conclusion, a new kind of race began, that of trying to find a local missing child, eight-year-old David Borer.
David Borer
At approximately 5:00 p.m. on April 26, David told his sister he was going to play at a sandbar along the frozen Kashwitna River near his home between Willow and Wasilla. When he had not returned by supper, his mother, Linda, called the police. They believed he may have fallen into the swift, shallow river as its center was not iced over, but divers did find any trace of him after several days of searching. Police also thought it possible David had been attacked by a bear, but again found no evidence to support the theory.
As crazy as it may sound, hitchhiking, even among young children, was a common practice at the time in the rural area, and David often hitchhiked along the nearby Parks Highway. Hunters reported seeing him doing so near Mile Marker 82, eleven miles north of Willow, shortly after 5:00. Though he had told his sister he was going to play at the sandbar, he may have changed his mind and could have been heading to a friend’s home in the area. Search dogs tracked his scent to the Parks Highway before losing it, suggesting he had been picked up. Few subsequent clues have emerged suggesting what happened to David Borer. His mother was separated from his father, Michael. Both have been cleared of involvement in his disappearance, still classified and being investigated as a non-family abduction.
David Disappears
At the time of his disappearance, David Michael Borer was four feet tall and weighed between fifty-five and sixty-five pounds. He was left-handed, had blond hair, and his front teeth were slightly protruded. His eyes were bluish-green; he had a scar under his right eye and another above his left eye. When last seen, David was wearing a green plaid shirt, green jeans, a red coat, and Sorel winter boots with felt inserts.
David Borer would today be forty-three-years-old. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Alaska State Troopers at 907-733-2256.
Computer-Aged Image Of David Borer
Many people believe David Borer resembles the unidentified gagged boy in a Polaroid found in Port St. Joe, Florida, in June 1989, less than two months after his disappearance.
A female in the photograph was for many years thought to be Tara Calico, who disappeared from New Mexico in September 1988. Click on the link to read about Tara’s case and the Polaroid.
Is David Borer The Gagged Boy?
A female in the photograph was for many years thought to be Tara Calico, who disappeared from New Mexico in September 1988. Click on the link to read about Tara’s case and the Polaroid.
SOURCES:
- Anchorage Daily News
- Charley Project
- Daily Sitka Sentinel (Sitka, Alaska)
- Doe Network
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