On October 23rd, 2026 investigators with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office announced that a new search was being conducted in relation to the September, 1982 disappearance of 3 year old Kevin Ayotte from Beltrami County, Minnesota.

The case of Ayotte began on September 30th, 1982 at around 4:45 PM after he was last seen at the family’s vacation cabin located in a remote area of Sugar Bush Township, Minnesota off Highway 20 near Bemidji, Minnesota. Investigators suspected that Ayotte had been abducted after the family’s dog returned on October 5th however they were never able to find Ayotte despite an extensive search which lasted over a week.

Investigators said this new search of a property is not the one where Kevin was last seen, however it is only a few miles from that location. The home they are searching is located near Bemidji which was previously owned by an unnamed person considered a person of interest in the case according to investigators. A search warrant at the property was executed with investigators starting their search this past Thursday with the focus being on outbuildings located on the property rather than the main home.

During an interview an investigator with the Beltrami County Sheriff Office named Jason Riggs spoke to the media mentioning that the home is owned by relatives of the person of interest and that a family member was the one to submit the tip. Riggs also mentioned that the tip was submitted to them a few months ago however they wanted to corroborate the information which they managed to do prior to searching the property. During this same interview Riggs mentioned he was hopeful that in the near future investigators can recover Ayotte’s body and bring closure to his family. The reason for the lack of information given to the media according to him is that investigators could potentially use the information provided for an interrogation down the line.

Sources:

https://www.kaaltv.com/news/recent-tip-sparks-new-search-44-years-after-minnesota-3-year-old-disappeared-near-bemidji/

https://www.inforum.com/news/minnesota/minnesota-sheriff-hopes-for-answers-in-44-year-old-case

https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/600172/1

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1cjju45/missing_in_minnesota_a_3_year_old_non_verbal/

https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/the-vault/3-year-old-disappears-in-a-matter-of-minutes-what-happened-to-little-kevin-jay-ayotte

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/recent-tip-sparks-new-search-44-years-after-minnesota-3-year-old-disappeared-near-bemidji/

https://lptv.org/new-tip-in-44-year-old-missing-person-case-prompts-search-in-beltrami-county/

https://charleyproject.org/case/kevin-jay-ayotte

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mN5uN3z2rcQ&ra=m