When a young, big, bear lake, California boy disappears from a playground near his home,

authorities launch the most extensive missing person search the area has ever seen.

Finding no trace of the child, investigators attempt to solve his presumed abduction in this episode of Last Seen Alive.

Music Thanks for listening to Last Seen Alive.

I'm your host, Leah, crime analyst by day and true crime storyteller by night.

And as always, I'm your co-host Scott.

A quick heads up. This case involves the disappearance of a young child victim. It contains discussion of the crimes of a serial child predator, which are disturbing and include sexual assault. We won't go into

any graphic detail, but still, please listen with care. Jack Phillips, who also went by J.D., was last

seen alive on August 6, 1995. He was nine years old at the time and lived in Big Bear Lake, California.

Big Bear Lake is a small and

stunningly scenic mountain town in Southern California, about two hours east of L.A. Although it's a

permanent home to only about 5,000 residents, it's a tourist mecca, so there's always something

going on, and visitors are abundant. On summer weekends, it may host as many as 100,000.

Big Bear Lakes draw lies in its natural amenities. As the name suggests, there's a lake, which is

surrounded by the San Bernardino Mountains, and is wildly popular among anglers. Hiking,

trail riding, and mountain biking are popular activities as well.

Even in the winter, Big Bear Lake attracts visitors to its ski resorts.

The year-round recreational opportunities are made possible by the area's Sky Island ecosystem,

a rare type of ecosystem characterized by high-elevation mountains surrounded by wildly different lowlands.

In Big Bear Lake's case, the Southern California desert by wildly different lowlands. In Big Bear Lake's case,

the Southern California desert makes up the lowlands, which stand in stark contrast to the comparatively lush topography of the mountains. Nine-year-old Jack, his two-year-old little brother, mom, Michelle,

and her boyfriend Ronnie were among the few thousand people who called the

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