Two Young Boys Lost in the Knox Mountains (Part Two)
Ken Batten
February 19, 2026
This is my continuation of the story about two young brothers who were lost in the woods in the spring of 1970. Roger (age six) and Russell (age three) DuBois, wandered off into the woods where their father was cutting firewood in Orange Vermont near their home. After their family was unable to locate them, calls went out for help, resulting in the largest search in Vermont state history.
I was only thirteen at the time so I wasn't allowed to help. My Dad and my three older sisters assisted in the search. My brother Mike was stationed in Germany with the Army, so he missed out. On the first night of the search, I rode with my mother up to the Chaloux's farm on Route 302 which looks across the valley at the base of the Knox Mountains where the search was taking place. We could see rows of lights, flickering and slowly moving in line throughout the woods. And, at the same time the distant sound of megaphones calling out for Roger and Russell. It was all very eerie.
My old friends Steve Otterman, Bruce O'Meara and Dennis O'Meara were all nineteen years old at the time and helped for several days and nights in the search. Steve recounted his memories of the search.
"We were part of a line of elbow-to-elbow searchers that covered the area between the road and the river from the parking lot at the top of Groton Heights back to the boys home. Then later, Dennis and I anchored opposite ends of another search line at night made up of cadets from Norwich University. The following night, Dennis, Bruce and I tried to lead a group of young folks from Barre up onto the south side of Knox to investigate caves and holes, but had to turn around when we found many were afraid of the dark. I also recall going on another hunt with one of the Chalouxs up around the east side of Knox Mountain.
The Vermont State Police took over one of the camps along the road beyond the boys’ house on Clement Road as a headquarters for the search. It seemed a little like a cluster mess. I don't believe we ever searched high enough on the mountain. The Norwich group searched from Clement Road up the valley past John Fry's log landing toward the Saddleback above the cabin, but they stopped short of the top. No one at the time could believe two small children would go so far in that kind of terrain."
The saddleback that Steve referred to was between the main Knox Mountain which is just over three thousand feet in elevation and the second Knox which is just under three thousand feet. On the other side was an old cabin that was partly fallen in, that was probably built by hunters in the 1940's or 50's. When I was a little older, I used to hike up there with friends and camp outside by the cabin. Some people think the boys went uphill through the saddleback and over the other side. That would be a hard hike for little boys.
There were roughly 10,000 people searching for the boys which included Vermont State Police, National Guard, Fish and Wildlife, Norwich University and thousands of volunteers.
The search went on for days and hope for finding them alive began to dwindle. After 16 days, the official search was called off. At the time I remember feeling bad for the boys, but since I have had my own children, I can't imagine the agony that the family must have gone through.
Sixteen months later, the boys remains were found by a bear hunter named Lewis Albiser.
He found them six miles and uphill from where they disappeared. It's hard to believe that that many searchers could miss finding them. There were even rumors of foul play. But, as Steve Otterman pointed out; he didn't believe they searched high enough on the mountain. It looks like he was right. My own theory is that the first night, the boys were terrified of the lights and bullhorns and kept moving away, uphill from the searchers. Once over the top they kept walking until they were exhausted and laid down to sleep. By then, the weather had turned very cold, so they probably died of hypothermia in their sleep.
It was a tragic end that left a profound impact on our little rural communities in the surrounding area and on all those who worked so diligently in the search, hoping for a successful outcome. But, with every tragedy there are lessons learned that help prevent future tragedies.
Ken Batten grew up on a small sheep farm in West Topsham VT. He was a logging contractor, soldier and rural mail carrier. He now lives in North Hyde Park VT with his wife Tina-Marie. You can contact Ken at kenbatvt@gmail.com or PO Box 5 N Hyde Park VT 05665
I was only thirteen at the time so I wasn't allowed to help. My Dad and my three older sisters assisted in the search. My brother Mike was stationed in Germany with the Army, so he missed out. On the first night of the search, I rode with my mother up to the Chaloux's farm on Route 302 which looks across the valley at the base of the Knox Mountains where the search was taking place. We could see rows of lights, flickering and slowly moving in line throughout the woods. And, at the same time the distant sound of megaphones calling out for Roger and Russell. It was all very eerie.
My old friends Steve Otterman, Bruce O'Meara and Dennis O'Meara were all nineteen years old at the time and helped for several days and nights in the search. Steve recounted his memories of the search.
"We were part of a line of elbow-to-elbow searchers that covered the area between the road and the river from the parking lot at the top of Groton Heights back to the boys home. Then later, Dennis and I anchored opposite ends of another search line at night made up of cadets from Norwich University. The following night, Dennis, Bruce and I tried to lead a group of young folks from Barre up onto the south side of Knox to investigate caves and holes, but had to turn around when we found many were afraid of the dark. I also recall going on another hunt with one of the Chalouxs up around the east side of Knox Mountain.
The Vermont State Police took over one of the camps along the road beyond the boys’ house on Clement Road as a headquarters for the search. It seemed a little like a cluster mess. I don't believe we ever searched high enough on the mountain. The Norwich group searched from Clement Road up the valley past John Fry's log landing toward the Saddleback above the cabin, but they stopped short of the top. No one at the time could believe two small children would go so far in that kind of terrain."
The saddleback that Steve referred to was between the main Knox Mountain which is just over three thousand feet in elevation and the second Knox which is just under three thousand feet. On the other side was an old cabin that was partly fallen in, that was probably built by hunters in the 1940's or 50's. When I was a little older, I used to hike up there with friends and camp outside by the cabin. Some people think the boys went uphill through the saddleback and over the other side. That would be a hard hike for little boys.
There were roughly 10,000 people searching for the boys which included Vermont State Police, National Guard, Fish and Wildlife, Norwich University and thousands of volunteers.
The search went on for days and hope for finding them alive began to dwindle. After 16 days, the official search was called off. At the time I remember feeling bad for the boys, but since I have had my own children, I can't imagine the agony that the family must have gone through.
Sixteen months later, the boys remains were found by a bear hunter named Lewis Albiser.
He found them six miles and uphill from where they disappeared. It's hard to believe that that many searchers could miss finding them. There were even rumors of foul play. But, as Steve Otterman pointed out; he didn't believe they searched high enough on the mountain. It looks like he was right. My own theory is that the first night, the boys were terrified of the lights and bullhorns and kept moving away, uphill from the searchers. Once over the top they kept walking until they were exhausted and laid down to sleep. By then, the weather had turned very cold, so they probably died of hypothermia in their sleep.
It was a tragic end that left a profound impact on our little rural communities in the surrounding area and on all those who worked so diligently in the search, hoping for a successful outcome. But, with every tragedy there are lessons learned that help prevent future tragedies.
Ken Batten grew up on a small sheep farm in West Topsham VT. He was a logging contractor, soldier and rural mail carrier. He now lives in North Hyde Park VT with his wife Tina-Marie. You can contact Ken at kenbatvt@gmail.com or PO Box 5 N Hyde Park VT 05665
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