Anthony Martinez was 10 years old when he was abducted and murdered on April 4, 1997, in Beaumont, California. He and his younger brother were playing in a neighbor’s yard with friends when Joseph Edward Duncan III grabbed Anthony, held a knife to his head, and forced him into a car after the younger boy escaped with Anthony’s help.

A massive search followed, with local, state, and federal agencies investigating roughly 6,000 leads over two weeks. On April 19, 1997, a park ranger found Anthony’s body among rocks in Berdoo Canyon near Joshua Tree National Park; investigators concluded he had been brutally murdered.

The case remained unsolved for several years before authorities eventually linked Duncan to Anthony’s killing. Anyone with memories of Anthony, the neighborhood in Beaumont, or information about the abduction is asked to come forward.