Missing Orrin & Orson West: Where Are The Boys?

Cincere and Classic Pettus were born in Bakersfield, California to their biological mother Ryan Dean. According to Dean, around the beginning of 2018, she arrived home from work and one of her sons seemed to be crying in pain. Ryan says she took the baby to the hospital right away and the baby who is now known as Orrin West was diagnosed with a broken femur. Dean claimed to be unaware of how the injury happened.

Child Protective Services removed the boys from Dean’s custody and, according to Dean, she last saw the boys at the end of 2018. That year, Trezell West, 34, and Jacqueline West, 31, became the boy’s foster parents. In 2019 the West Family officially adopted Cincere and Classic and changed their names to Orrin and Orson West. Orson (born 06/11/2017) is now 3 years old and Orrin (born 8/4/2016) is 4. The West family has two other adopted children and two biological children.

On Monday, December 21, 2020, both of the little boys disappeared. According to adoptive parents Trezell and Jacqueline West, Orrin and Orson had been playing outside with chalk while Jacqueline wrapped Christmas gifts inside their California City home. The family’s other 4 children were staying over at their grandma’s house during this time, with the Wests saying that Orrin and Orson stayed home with them because they’re the youngest. That’s not really a reason dude, but okay.

It was a little before 4:30pm when Trezell West went outside to gather firewood and, according to him, went back inside the house for a short time. When he came back outside the boys were gone. Realizing that he had left the gate open, he panicked. Trezell says he then jumped into his vehicle and drove around the neighborhood looking for the boys and asking neighbors if they’d seen them. A neighbor’s camera would capture him getting into his white van at 4:32pm. What I really want to know is what else did that camera capture that hasn’t been released? I feel like there’s much more.

The boys were reported missing at about 6pm over an hour after they seemingly vanished from outside of their home. At 8pm, the California City Police put out a news release with a description of the boys but their names and pictures were not released until a couple of hours later. That night a search for the boys was conducted by the police along with volunteers. The West family was not there. The K-9 Unit was brought into the home and the boys’ scents were found inside the house but not outside at all. It also appears that neighbors in California City don’t recall ever seeing the boys known as Orrin and Orson. The West family moved from Bakersfield to the California City home a few months earlier. Did the 2 youngest of their 6 kids arrive with them? Why hasn’t anyone seen them in the past few months?

The next morning the search for little Orson and Orrin continued, but was unsuccessful. Later that day, the Wests were brought in for questioning by the police. By the time the evening came, investigators were at the West home with a search warrant. When they left the home, they had a duffle bag and several brown evidence bags with them. The West’s van was also towed so it could be searched. It was reported that night by KGET 17 News that FBI agents had also interviewed Trezell and Jacqueline West and they were cooperating with Law Enforcement.

On Wednesday December 23rd, 2020, the West home, along with the backyard, was searched again and the Wests spoke with the media for the first time. Trezell explained what was going on when the boys went missing. The Wests said they weren’t part of the search because the police had told them to stay in their home during the search and that their 4 other children had been removed from their home since Orrin and Orson had been missing. They also discussed their phones and computers being taken as part of the investigation.

For me, watching the Wests speak, one of the things that stands out to me is when Trezell says “our boys, they are going to be, rambunctious ok, ugh. They are going to be here in this area and I really would like to go in the houses, but it’s not because I want to invade people’s privacy I just want to know….” Then Jacqueline cuts in and says “make sure” and Trezell finishes his sentence saying “make sure”. I’m not exactly sure why those words bother me, but something about the way he says all this really makes me feel uncomfortable. It’s as if he’s trying to convince everyone that the boys are in the area, maybe even in a neighbor’s house, which leads me to believe when they’re found, it won’t be in California City. I’m really starting to believe that they never made it out of Bakersfield.

Add that to the Trezell’s stance of arms across his chest with his thumbs visible and the other 4 fingers tucked into his armpits and Jacqueline rocking back and forth the whole time and I’m now not only extremely uncomfortable, but I can’t get the picture of Chris Watts, standing outside calmly talking to reporters after murdering his pregnant wife and beautiful little girls, Bella and Celeste, out of my head. Now, I’m not just worried about these 2 adorable little boys who might have wandered off, I’m terrified by the possibility of what may have actually happened to them and if their fate was similar to that of Bella and CeCe.

On December 29th, 2020, the California City Police Chief, John Walker, updated the public on the case. He said that nothing had been found when the West’s backyard was dug up by investigators and that they did suspect foul play in the disappearance of Orrin and Orson. Around this time we also heard that the Wests were no longer staying in their home because of threats being made toward them and people trespassing on their property. It was reported that they had returned to Bakersfield, where they lived before moving to the California City home in September 2020. Of course, I don’t condone any threats or violence toward the Wests, but I do understand the anger that people in the community have toward them. While Trezell and Jacqueline stood outside in front of members of their community and the media, they never once pleaded for the return of their sons. They never shed a tear, they never begged for whoever took them to bring them home, so I get the anger directed towards them at this time.

2021 arrived with no sign of the boys but in early January, members of the West family issued a statement saying that they had a team of private investigators involved in the case and they were hoping for the safe return of Orrin and Orson. Local businesses put together a $25,000 reward for anyone who finds the boys. On January 17th, the reward money which was donated by churches, businesses, the West family, and the city, was raised to $100,000 for anyone with information leading to the boys’ whereabouts.

And still…nothing.

During this time, the West’s are having issues with people throwing things at their house, trespassing on their property, threatening them and trying to break into their house. There’s also been a lot going on online, with the biological family of the boys speaking out against the way the boys had been removed from their biological mother and the entire adoption process. Now, I’m no expert and this is my opinion, but that adoption does seem to have been fast-tracked for some reason. From what I’ve been told, the process usually takes longer, in some cases several years. I feel, and again this is my personal opinion, that Ryan Dean may be guilty of protecting the person who was watching her kids, but I don’t really believe she abused or neglected them. In the near future, we will talk to one of our expert guests about the foster care system, the ways it’s broken, and what can be done to fix it. In this case, something tells me that things weren’t done 100% by the book.

On January 25th, 2021, a candlelight vigil for Orrin and Orson was held outside of the West’s home. When the police gave another update on the case at the end of January, sadly it was that there were very few leads to go on in the search for the boys. This made my heart sink but at the same time, I also believe that investigators are holding back some of the information they have and not making it known to the public, so I’m still hopeful that the truth will be revealed soon. There’s so much that we the public don’t know, but it really does have to be that way to protect the details of the case and the investigation.

There’s already been a lot of speculation online, with Facebook groups dedicated to finding the boys. So many people that don’t know the families personally have become attached to the case. They’re invested in finding these 2 beautiful, innocent little boys and uncovering the truth about what happened to them to cause their disappearance. Can you blame them? I know I can’t. From Caylee Anthony to Amir Jennings to Haleigh Cummings to Patrick Alford, you can’t help but get caught up in these cases. You want to know everything, you want to help, you want these babies to be safe, loved and protected.

I know their names have been legally changed but I honestly find it hard to refer to them by the names that Trezell and Jacqueline West gave them. It just doesn’t sit right with me. These are children, not puppies. They know their names as Cincere and Classic, not Orrin and Orson. It’s one thing for an older child or young adult to want to change their name, but these babies didn’t request a name change. This wasn’t a decision made because it needed to be made. This isn’t a situation where adults made a decision for young children that was in their best interests. My opinion may not be popular, but it’s mine. I think the only logical reason behind the name changes was to try to erase the past of the boys and their memories of their biological family. I imagine that could be confusing and scary to a 3 and 4 year old.

On February 1st, police and FBI agents returned to the West home with special equipment to see if anything was under the ground, but again, nothing was found. The following night, the biological family of the boys held a prayer service in Bakersfield, outside of the home the boys once lived in with their biological mom, Ryan Dean. Dean and others members of the boy’s biological family have participated in searches for the boys and made flyers and t-shirts with the boys photos to spread the word of their disappearance. The adoptive parents have given their reasons for not participating in the searches and in my opinion, that’s some bullshit. If my children were missing, I don’t care who else is out there, I don’t care who tells me to stay home. NOTHING would keep me from being out there searching for my kids. I’m positive that most parents would agree with me on this.

In early February, the reward for information leading to the boys was again raised, to $120,000. On February 14th, it was reported that the biological family of the boys had put up a billboard for the boys on Highway 99. They had also received enough money in donations from a GoFundMe for 2 more billboards to raise awareness and seek information about the case. Strangers have reached out to give money for the billboards because the boys have touched their hearts and they want to help find them.

On March 1st, the Bakersfield Police Department announced that it’s now the lead agency investigating the disappearance of 4-year-old Orrin and 3-year-old Orson West and the California City Police Department and FBI will continue to have active roles in the investigation. This only makes the online speculation that the boys were never in the California City home even more credible. Why else would Bakersfield be taking over?

This case has so many people wanting to help but it’s also causing tensions and even violence. A few days ago, rumors that have been spreading online led to accusations and fighting among community members with one being arrested. The biological grandfather of the boys, Kam, has written a blog about his feelings and you can read it here. I have to say, I do agree with a lot of what he has said. Investigators are still searching and still holding their cards close to their chests.

The Bakersfield Police Department is asking for anyone who had contact with Orrin and/or Orson West within the past year, regardless of the context, to contact us via Secret Witness at 661 322–4040. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts, circumstances or history of the little boys is encouraged to share that information with law enforcement by utilizing the Secret Witness tip-line at 661 322–4040. The reward for information has now been raised to $123,000.

Originally published at http://madgingerentertainment.com.