Known As Frog Boy, His Remains Went Unidentified For 50 Years After They Were Found In An Oregon Creek, But Even Now, His Cause Of Death Remains Undetermined
Born on October 4, 1954, Winston Arthur Maxey III grew up in Rupert, Idaho. He had seven siblings and went by the nickname “Little Wint” among his loved ones.
Winston was known as a shy young boy, but even his peers recalled him as having a heart of gold. He was also proactive and inventive, getting creative to solve any problems that came his way.
For instance, when his parents couldn’t afford to buy him a skateboard one summer, he used some scrap plywood to build his own.
But, by the time Winston turned 15-years-old, he had a girlfriend, and in the fall of 1970, she found out that she was pregnant.
Winston’s girlfriend was ultimately sent to Boise, Idaho, to stay at a home for unwed mothers. Her parents reportedly decided that, following the birth of her child, putting the baby up for adoption was the best course of action.
A few months later, in the spring of 1971, Winston supposedly got into an argument with his mother and was asked to leave home at the age of 16. He didn’t have anywhere to go and wound up sleeping at a nearby campground.
However, a couple of days later, Winston’s cousin reportedly learned what was going on and offered to take him in.
Winston’s girlfriend also returned to Rupert in April of 1971 while she was seven months pregnant. He tried to contact her, but she wouldn’t speak to him since he reportedly wanted her to keep their baby.
Just a short while later, Winston’s older sister, Vicky Schettler, arranged for him to visit her home in Boise. Yet, he actually only stayed for a few days.
Facebook – pictured above is Winston
That’s because, after the 16-year-old arrived in Boise, he heard about how the logging and fishing industries on the Oregon coast were taking off. This pushed Winston to travel to Coos Bay, Oregon, telling Vicky that he was going to look for a job.
It remains unclear how Winston traveled there, but after he left Boise in the summer of 1971, his family lost track of him.
Not long afterward, the remains of a juvenile male were discovered in July of 1971. They were found face-up in Coos Bay’s Snedden Creek.
No identification was located with the body, and authorities could not determine the victim’s official cause of death. Additionally, investigators tried for years to match the unknown remains with missing people.
Still, for five decades, the deceased young man remained unidentified – and he became known as “frog boy.”
It wasn’t until 2017 that the young man’s remains were exhumed by the Coos County Sheriff’s Office in order to get a DNA sample for identification.
Four years later, in May of 2021, the Oregon State Medical Examiner, Dr. Nici Vance, sent a piece of the young man’s bone to a Virginia-based company named Parabon NanoLabs, Inc.
The young man’s DNA was extracted, enabling scientists to create a profile that included information about his ancestry, skin color, eye color, and hair color. Moreover, a composite photo showing what he may have looked like.
Equipped with this information, CeCe Moore, an Investigative Genetic Genealogist, began reviewing the young man’s case in August 2021. In the end, she constructed numerous family trees that led her to a woman named Lori Merriam.
Lori was Winston’s daughter, whom he never got to meet. This discovery finally ended the mystery of the unidentified remains, proving that they belonged to Winston Maxey.
Even so, his cause of death remains undetermined, and his daughter, Lori, suspects that foul play was involved.
She has since created the Winston Arthur Maxey III Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating and supporting Oregon families with missing loved ones.
Similarly, Lori has created a Facebook page entitled Who In The World Murdered Winston Maxey? to raise awareness about her father’s case.
According to Captain Jason Patterson of the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation into Winston’s death is still open and active.
If you have any information regarding Winston’s case, you are urged to contact the Coos County Sheriff’s Office at (541) 396-7800.
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