Adventures with Purpose

Adventures with Purpose is a group of professional, non-profit scuba divers who use underwater sonar imaging equipment and bathymetry mapping technology to locate missing persons and their vehicles in waterbodies. Originally focused on clean-up, their channel's focus was turned to missing persons cold cases after their accidental discovery of a missing person. The group documents their efforts on their YouTube channel.

Adventures with Purpose
YouTube information
Channel	Adventures with Purpose
Years active	2018–present
Subscribers	3.25 million[1]
Total views	389 million[1]
Website	adventureswithpurpose.com
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers ? 1,000,000 subscribers ?
Last updated: 20 July 2024

Background

Adventures with Purpose (AWP) was founded by Oregon-based Jared Leisek in 2018.^[a][3] They began as an environmental cleanup agency, removing cars that were polluting waterways.^[4][5] Doug Bishop, a diver and manager of a towing company, also joined the group.^[6] After twice finding cars with missing people in them, they determined a need to look for people who have gone missing in or with their vehicles.^[7] The channel receives tip-offs and requests from the public through their social media accounts.^[3] They do not pursue rewards from family or charge the families or police involved, but will not reject rewards if given.^[8] Instead, AWP funds its searches through video views, subscribers, donations, and merchandise sales.^[5] In 2020, AWP threatened to sue for a $100,000 reward pledged by five anonymous donors for the discovery of Ethan Kazmerzak, who had disappeared in 2013.^[9] The Kazmerzak family donated an undisclosed amount.^[5]

In October 2022, the team had six members.^[7] The following month, Leisek was accused of raping a 9-year-old female relative at age 16–17 in Utah in 1992. Several team members, including Bishop, diver Nick Rinn,^[10] and lead videographer Josh Cantu^[11] subsequently left the team.^[12][13] On January 5, 2023, Leisek was charged in Sanpete County, Utah.^[14][15]

On January 7, 2023, Adventures with Purpose announced they are on a 3-month tour with a new team of divers and filmmakers.^[16]

Search process

At the identified waterbody,^[17] the team traverse the waters in small inflatable boats, scanning the bottom of the waterbody using sonar. Upon identifying areas of interest, they circle the area for further identification on their sonar displays before using a heavy-duty magnet to attach their line to the sunken vehicle. They mark the location with a buoy and then use divers to make a visual identification of the vehicle, retrieve a license plate, search for bodies, and prepare the vehicle and its contents for retrieval by police.^[18]

Cases

The team usually deals with cold cases,^[19] however they have also volunteered for searches in recent cases; an example would be searching on August 22, 2022, for Kiely Rodni, who went missing on August 6, 2022.^[20] Certain recent cases may be incidental while searching the waterbody for a cold case.^[21] As of July 2024, the group has solved 33 missing person cases (the chart below counts mother Samantha Hopper and daughter Courtney Holt as one case.)^[21] AWP also sometimes cooperates with other teams with the same purpose, such as Exploring with Nug, Chaos Divers and Sunshine State Sonar.^[22][23]

Cases solved

Case	Name	Age	Missing	Found	Location
1	Nathan Ashby[24]	22	July 31, 2019	December 29, 2019	Missouri River, Pinckney Township, Missouri 38.6606°N 91.2438°W / 38.6606; -91.2438[25]
2	Timothy Robinson[26]	56	November 26, 2008	May 26, 2020	Willamette River, Milwaukie, Oregon 45.4433°N 122.6446°W / 45.4433; -122.6446[27]
3	Nicholas Allen[28]	17	February 20, 2020	October 1, 2020	Yadkin River, Linwood, North Carolina 35.7231°N 80.3913°W / 35.7231; -80.3913[29]
4	Ethan Kazmerzak[9]	22	September 15, 2013	October 26, 2020	Chapin, Iowa 42.80618°N 93.2178°W / 42.80618; -93.2178[30]
5	Bill Simmons[31]	57	June 15, 2020	January 26, 2021	Cumberland River, Nashville, Tennessee 36.2451°N 86.7021°W / 36.2451; -86.7021[32]
6	Antonio Amaro Lopez[33]	57	February 14, 2021	February 17, 2021	Columbia River, Portland, Oregon 45.5910°N 122.5481°W / 45.5910; -122.5481[34]
7	Tammy Goff[35]	59	July 12, 2018	May 14, 2021	Missouri River, Great Falls, Montana 47.3979°N 111.3170°W / 47.3979; -111.3170[36]
8	Richard Ritz[37]	74	September 13, 2020	June 3, 2021	Willamette River, Cathedral Park, Oregon 45.5871°N 122.7651°W / 45.5871; -122.7651[38]
9	John Zarkowski[39]	72	September 4, 2021	September 22, 2021	Missouri River, Plattsmouth, Nebraska 41.0145°N 95.8685°W / 41.0145; -95.8685[40]
10	Nadine Moses[41]	84	May 4, 2021	September 25, 2021	St. Clair River, Marine City, Michigan 42.7062°N 82.4965°W / 42.7062; -82.4965[42]
11	Charles Fluharty[43]	57	October 19, 2014	October 5, 2021	Yellow Creek, Yellow Creek Township, Ohio 40.5732°N 80.6671°W / 40.5732; -80.6671[44]
12	Carey Mae Parker[45]	23	March 17, 1991	October 16, 2021	Lake Tawakoni, Hawk Cove, Texas 32.8678°N 96.0703°W / 32.8678; -96.0703[46]
13	Thomas Thornton[47]	72	March 24, 2021	October 24, 2021	Toledo Bend Reservoir, Shelby County, Texas 31.7514°N 93.8436°W / 31.7514; -93.8436[48]
14	Samantha Hopper[49]	19	September 11, 1998	October 26, 2021	Lake Dardanelle, Russellville, Arkansas 35.3211°N 93.1470°W / 35.3211; -93.1470[50]
	Courtney Holt	1
15	Jeff Shepherd[51]	30	March 14, 2018	December 5, 2021	Strunk, Kentucky 36.6466°N 84.4332°W / 36.6466; -84.4332[52]
16	Stephanie Torres[53]	42	December 21, 2017	January 19, 2022	Brazos River, Waco, Texas 31.5825°N 97.1517°W / 31.5825; -97.1517[54]
17	Annie Lee Hampton[55]	66	October 10, 2019	January 28, 2022	Bear Creek Lake, Marianna, Arkansas 34.7090°N 90.6940°W / 34.7090; -90.6940[56]
18	Margaret "Jan" Shupe Smith[57]	59	April 2, 2021	February 2, 2022	Lakeland, Florida 28.1387°N 81.9470°W / 28.1387; -81.9470[58]
19	James Amabile[59]	38	December 4, 2003	March 19, 2022	Darby Creek, Ridley Township, Pennsylvania 39.8705°N 75.3130°W / 39.8705; -75.3130[60]
20	Dedrick Smith[61]	26	October 4, 2006	April 1, 2022	Winston Lake, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 36.1159°N 80.2028°W / 36.1159; -80.2028[62]
21	Matthew "Jed" Hall[63]	16	January 22, 2018	May 1, 2022	Snake River, Idaho Falls, Idaho 43.5046°N 112.0490°W / 43.5046; -112.0490[64]
22	Ralph Brown[65]	77	May 16, 2021	May 13, 2022	Willamette River, Newburg, Oregon 45.2853°N 122.9681°W / 45.2853; -122.9681[66]
23	Kiely Rodni[67]	16	August 6, 2022	August 21, 2022	Prosser Creek Reservoir, Truckee, California 39.3829°N 120.1581°W / 39.3829; -120.1581[68]
24	Donald Messier[69]	34	October 15, 2006	October 5, 2022	Winooski River, Duxbury, Vermont 44.3307°N 72.7582°W / 44.3307; -72.7582[70]
25	Tod DiMinno[71]	54	September 30, 2022	October 8, 2022	Allegheny River, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[72]
26	Dale Nicholson[73]	61	December 10, 2016	January 23, 2023	River Derwent, Tasmania, Australia 42.777592°S 147.060017°E / -42.777592; 147.060017[74]
27	Jacob VanZant[75]	24	February 17, 2023	April 15, 2023	San Joaquin River, Stockton, California 38.060259°N 121.499616°W / 38.060259; -121.499616[76]
28	Rochelle Stanfield[77]	84	March 6, 2023	May 5, 2023	Mississippi River, Tiptonville, Tennessee 36.366390°N 89.506233°W / 36.366390; -89.506233[78]
29	Maureen Sherman[79]	47	May 1, 1985	January 5, 2024	Miami, Florida
30	Kareem Tisdale[80]	30	December 16, 2005	January 6, 2024	Sunrise, Florida
31	Arnel Nagal Narvaiz[81]	36	July 1, 1994	April 13, 2024	Sutton Slough, California
32	Karmen Neilson[82]	62	November 20, 2016	July 24, 2024	Sacramento River, Sacramento, California

Footnotes

1. The AWP YouTube channel was registered in July 2018^[2]

References

1. "About Adventures with Purpose". YouTube.
2. "Adventures with Purpose - YouTube". YouTube. Adventures with Purpose. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
3. Weinman, Steve (March 22, 2022). "Body-recovery divers crack 20th cold case - Divernet". Divernet. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
4. Woodruff, Bob (2022). "Video YouTubers, Adventures with Purpose, help crack a missing persons case". ABC News. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
5. Kesslen, Ben (August 23, 2022). "Adventures with Purpose dive team, who found Kiely Rodni, have solved 23 other cold cases". New York Post. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
6. Williams, Chris (May 9, 2022). "Adventures with Purpose: Volunteer dive team solves nearly 25 missing-person cold cases — and counting". Fox 2 Detroit. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
7. Spocchia, Gino (August 22, 2022). "Adventures with Purpose: Who are the divers who discovered body in search for Kiely Rodni?". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
8. Shaddox, Rowena (August 22, 2022). "Adventures with Purpose details search for Kiely Rodni". FOX40. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
9. Joens, Philip (December 15, 2020). "Dive team that found missing Iowa man's body might sue for $100,000 reward". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
10. "Nick Rinn Departure with AWP". YouTube. Nick Rinn. November 9, 2022.
11. "My Resignation with AWP". YouTube. Josh Cantu. November 8, 2022.
12. Hice, Jim (November 15, 2022). "Founding member of well known search and recovery team charged with rape of child". KCEN-TV. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
13. Marks, Andrea (November 17, 2022). "True Crime YouTuber to Plead Not Guilty to 1992 Child Rape Charges". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
14. "Sanpete County Sheriff's Department Jail Bookings" (PDF). Retrieved January 11, 2023.
15. Luperon, Alberto (November 8, 2022). "Adventures with Purpose Founder Charged with Raping a Child in Alleged 1992 Incidents". Law & Crime. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
16. "AWP 2023 Winter Search has officially begun". YouTube. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
17. Martinez, Jeremiah (August 22, 2022). "What is Adventures with Purpose, the team that says it found Kiely Rodni's body and car?". FOX40. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
18. "How dive teams use advanced technology to search Pittsburgh's rivers for the missing". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 12, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
19. Stanish, Erika (October 9, 2022). "Helping families find closure: Dive team searches for information on missing person cases". CBS News. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
20. Romero, Dennis (August 22, 2022). "Kiely Rodni case: Body found near the last location of missing teen". NBC News. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
21. "Missing Harmony man found in river remembered as 'caring,' loving father". CBS News. October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
22. Denis, Alex (December 2, 2021). "Youtuber finds car belonging to TN teen missing for 2 decades". WKRN News 2. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
23. "YouTube diving group helps Pittsburgh police after finding body in Allegheny River". WPXI. October 9, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
24. Cavallier, Andrea (December 31, 2019). "Human remains, truck recovered from Missouri River in search for missing Nathaniel Ashby". NBC News. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
25. Solved Missing Persons Case... Bringing Closure for Nathan's Family. Adventures with Purpose. January 10, 2020. Event occurs at 00:13:48. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
26. Smithers, Dominic (March 18, 2021). "Man Found In Car 75 Feet Under Water Solving 12-Year Missing Person Case". LADbible. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
27. SOLVED 12-Year-Old Missing Person Case (Timothy Robinson). Adventures with Purpose. June 5, 2020. Event occurs at 00:12:57. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
28. Fowler, Hayley (October 13, 2020). "Deputy was 'rude' to family of missing teen after body found. NC sheriff apologizes". Charlotte Observer.
29. SOLVED 8-Month-Old Missing Person Case (Nicholas Allen). Adventures with Purpose. October 9, 2020. Event occurs at 00:26:27. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
30. SOLVED 7-Year-Old Missing Person Case.. (Ethan Kazmerzak). Adventures with Purpose. October 9, 2020. Event occurs at 00:25:24. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
31. Horan, Kyle (January 26, 2021). "Body of missing man found in car in the Cumberland". News Channel 5. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
32. SOLVED 7-Month-Old Missing Persons Cold Case (BILL SIMMONS). Adventures with Purpose. April 9, 2021. Event occurs at 00:11:41. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
33. Miller, Joshua Rhett (February 19, 2021). "Driver who plunged off bridge ID'd as Oregon dad Antonio Amaro-Lopez: cops". New York Post. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
34. SOLVED 3-Day-Old Missing Person Case.. (Antonio Amaro-Lopez). Adventures with Purpose. February 26, 2021. Event occurs at 00:09:56. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
35. Rosenbaum, Traci (May 27, 2021). "Cascade County Sheriff IDs body found in river as Tammy Goff". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
36. SOLVED: Found Tammy Goff (Ep. 4) Missing 3-Years Underwater. Adventures with Purpose. July 2, 2021. Event occurs at 00:32:39. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
37. Wolford, Brooke (June 4, 2021). "Private dive team finds body of grandpa missing for months in river, Oregon police say". The News Tribune. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
38. SOLVED: Missing 9-Months Underwater (RICHARD RITZ FOUND). Adventures with Purpose. July 30, 2021. Event occurs at 00:14:30. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
39. "Body of missing Plattsmouth man found inside SUV recovered from river". KOLN. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
40. SOLVED: Missing 72-year-old Marine Veteran Found Underwater in SUV (John Zarkowski). Adventures with Purpose. December 10, 2021. Event occurs at 00:24:05. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
41. Kelly, Dane (September 26, 2021). "Vehicle of woman missing since May found in St. Clair River with body inside". WDIV. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
42. SOLVED 84-Year-Old Missing Person Case.. (Nadine Moses). Adventures with Purpose. November 25, 2021. Event occurs at 00:14:36. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
43. Mosca, Zach (October 8, 2021). "Divers find body of East Liverpool man missing for seven years". WFMJ. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
44. SOLVED: Charles Fluharty Brought Home 7 Years Underwater Wait Is Over. Chaos Divers. November 19, 2021. Event occurs at 00:00:01. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
45. Kellar, Brad (October 16, 2021). "Family: Remains of Carey Mae Parker located". Yahoo! News. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
46. SOLVED: We Found Their Moms Car 30 Years Later... (Carey Mae Parker COLD CASE). Adventures with Purpose. May 7, 2021. Event occurs at 00:22:18. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
47. KTRE Digital Media Staff (October 25, 2021). "Body found at Huxley Bay believed to be veteran missing since March". KLTV. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
48. SOLVED: Vietnam Veteran (Thomas Thornton) Found 7-months after Crashing Car into Lake. Adventures with Purpose. December 24, 2021. Event occurs at 00:10:35. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
49. O'Connell, Oliver (October 29, 2021). "Human remains found in car more than 20 years after mother and daughter went missing". The Independent. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
50. SOLVED: Missing 23-years Underwater (Samantha Hopper, 22-month-old Daughter Courtney, Unborn Baby). Adventures with Purpose. December 31, 2021. Event occurs at 00:21:05. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
51. Stunson, Mike (December 6, 2021). "Human remains found in submerged truck of man missing since 2018, Kentucky officials say". Lexington Herald-Leader.
52. Cold Case SOLVED: 30 Year Old Jeff Shepherd Found In Pond 3 1/2 Years Later. Chaos Divers. December 17, 2021. Event occurs at 00:10:28. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
53. Gamboa, Suzanne; Davis, Lindsey; Hylton, Antonia (January 19, 2022). "Cold case divers find missing woman's vehicle in Texas river". NBC News. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
54. SOLVED: Missing 4-years Underwater (Stephanie Torres). Adventures with Purpose. February 4, 2022. Event occurs at 00:14:30. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
55. Li, Johanna (January 28, 2022). "Remains of Missing Woman Found at Bottom of Arkansas Lake". Inside Edition. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
56. SOLVED: Missing 2-years Underwater (Miss Annie Lee Hampton). Adventures with Purpose. February 4, 2022. Event occurs at 00:24:50. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
57. Jackson, Amanda (February 7, 2022). "The moment YouTube divers crack a missing person cold case". 7NEWS. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
58. SOLVED: Missing 10-months Underwater (Margaret "Jan" Shupe Smith). Adventures with Purpose. April 5, 2022. Event occurs at 01:08:20. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
59. Reardon, Sophie (March 29, 2022). "Body found in Pennsylvania creek identified as James Amabile, who had been missing since 2003". CBS News. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
60. SOLVED: Underwater Recovery 19-years Later [Ep 3] James Amabile. Adventures with Purpose. May 19, 2022. Event occurs at 00:00:28. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
61. Brown, Maggie; Leah, Heather (April 5, 2022). "Car of NC man reported missing 16 years ago found in Winston-Salem lake". WRAL. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
62. SOLVED 16-Year-Old Missing Person Case.. (Dedrick Smith). Adventures with Purpose. June 7, 2022. Event occurs at 00:31:23. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
63. "Remains found in vehicle are those of Jed Hall's, police say". East Idaho News. May 5, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
64. SOLVED 16-Year Old (Jed Hall) Missing 4-years... We FOUND him in Under 20 minutes!. Adventures with Purpose. July 15, 2022. Event occurs at 00:45:35. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
65. "Human remains found in submerged car belonging to former Oregon mayor who went missing one year ago". CBS News. May 16, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
66. SOLVED: Missing 12-months Underwater (Ralph Brown) DANGEROUS RECOVERY. Adventures with Purpose. June 30, 2022. Event occurs at 00:53:30. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
67. Collman, Ashley (August 22, 2022). "Body found in car submerged in California reservoir is likely missing teen Kiely Rodni, police say". Insider. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
68. How We FOUND Kiely Rodni: MURDER or ACCIDENT?. Adventures with Purpose. September 2, 2022. Event occurs at 00:34:43. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
69. Smith, Cam (October 5, 2022). "Mystery solved? Missing man's truck found at bottom of river". WCAX. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
70. Pt2: SOLVED Cold Case 16-YEARS Later (Donnie Messier). Adventures with Purpose. October 28, 2022. Event occurs at 00:30:48. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
71. "Police pull car with body inside from Allegheny River near Acrisure Stadium". CBS News. October 8, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
72. WE FOUND Tod DiMinno - Breaking News Livestream. Adventures with Purpose. October 9, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
73. "Tragic riddle of car in river". January 24, 2023.
74. SOLVED 6-Year-Old Missing Person Case.. (Dale Nicholson). Adventures with Purpose. July 21, 2023. Event occurs at 00:10:20.
75. "Dive team finds body of missing Stockton man Jacob VanZant in San Joaquin River". CBS News. April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
76. WE FOUND Jacob VanZant - Breaking News Livestream. Adventures with Purpose. April 15, 2023. Event occurs at 00:19:07. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
77. Adams, Eve (May 6, 2023). "Rochelle Stanfield of Tiptonville, TN, found dead in Mississippi River". SNBC13. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
78. SOLVED: 💔 Grandma Missing 60-Days Underwater... The Case of Rochelle Stanfield. Adventures with Purpose. July 14, 2023. Event occurs at 00:10:20. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
79. Crowley, Kinsey (January 9, 2024). "Human remains believed to belong to woman missing since 1985 found in car in Miami canal". USA Today. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
80. Livingston, Layron (February 12, 2024). "Authorities working to ID remains found in submerged vehicle near Sawgrass Mills Mall". WPLG.
81. Robles, Sergio (April 22, 2024). "Human remains, vehicle pulled from waterway may be linked to Stockton man who went missing in 1994". FOX40. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
82. "BREAKING NEWS: 2 Cold Cases Solved by AWP and Sunshine State Sonar".