Orrin West and Orson West
Missing Since: 12/21/2020
Missing From: California City, California
Classification: Endangered Missing
Sex: Male
Race: Black
Date of Birth: 06/11/2017 (4)
Age: 3 years old
Height and Weight: 3’0, 35 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A black sweatshirt and gray or black sweatpants.
Distinguishing Characteristics: African American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Orson’s birth name was Classic Pettus.
Details of Disappearance: Orson disappeared with his brother, Orrin West, from California City, California at 4:00 p.m. on December 21, 2020. They lived with their adoptive parents, Trezell and Jacqueline West. Trezell and Jacqueline have two biological children and two additional adoptive ones. That day, the other children were away visiting their grandparents.
The Wests had begun fostering Orrin and Orson in 2018 after they were removed from their biological parents’ care, and had adopted them in 2019. All of the other children were removed from the home after Orrin and Orson were reported missing. Trezell stated the two boys went missing from the backyard.
They were playing with the family’s dog, and Trezell was gathering firewood. He went inside briefly, leaving the back gate open. When he returned, the children were gone. Trezell stated he drove through the nearby streets looking for them and spoke to neighbors before calling the police a few minutes later.
The police brought tracking dogs to the house, and the dogs detected Orrin and Orson’s scent inside the home but not outdoors. An extensive search turned up no sign of either of the brothers. In December 2021, a year after Orrin and Orson disappeared, their biological father, Charles A. Pettus and grandmother, Brenda Pettus, filed a lawsuit against the state of California, the county of Kern, and Kern County Child Protective Services in connection with the boys’ case. The Pettuses allege that the boys’ adoptive parents were improperly trained and supervised, and this led to Orrin and Orson being placed in an unsafe situation, which resulted in their wrongful deaths. 
Authorities have stated little information is available in Orson and Orrin’s disappearances, but foul play is suspected. Prior to moving to California City in September 2020, they’d lived in Bakersfield, California; Bakersfield police are investigating their cases.
Investigating Agency
Bakersfield Police Department 661-326-3875….
FIND OUR MISSING BOYS — ORRIN AND ORSON WEST (OFFICIAL FAMILY STATEMENT)
Jan 4, 2021
The past two weeks have been a true nightmare. On Monday, December 21 our youngest two grandchildren/nephews/cousins were reported missing by their parents in California City. Our extended family, all who live hundreds and thousands of miles away from California City were notified and immediately were engaged with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), California City Police Department, and the Bakersfield City Police Department.
Our priority is to find out where the boys are and their safe return. The truth must and will come to light. There are also four other children affected that our family is working overtime to protect and shield from this nightmare. We have engaged with a team of private investigators and are proactively supporting the official investigation. We were and are still in shock, worried, heartbroken, and fully cooperating with the authorities which included hours of interviews and questioning within less than 12 hours of the boy’s initial disappearance.
It should be noted that the two brothers are the youngest of four adopted siblings and share two older siblings who are the biological children of their adoptive parents. That is six children in total who are our primary focus.
The boys and their sibling joined our family legally last year when the parental rights of their birth mother were taken away by the State of California and the birth fathers collectively gave up their parental rights. From day one when the boys and their siblings came into our lives through emergency foster care our number one priority was to embrace them and treat them as our own. When the approval to adopt was granted last year we were ecstatic that they would have a permanent home. We will not disparage or bash the biological family of the boys, but it should be noted that they were placed into the system for various reasons and were adopted as a result. We are sure the pain and anger we feel is also felt by the biological family and our hearts go out to them.
There have been speculation and theories as to why we, the extended family, are not physically leading the volunteer search efforts on the ground in California City and why we have avoided the press.
Those theories do not reflect that in less than 24 hours of the disappearance of the boys our extended family started receiving threats of physical violence including death threats. Family members who live thousands of miles away have also received these same threats. We were advised appropriately to avoid public spaces and crowds given the immediacy and intensity of these threats. In fact, the boy’s home has been pelted with rocks, windows have been broken and vandals have attempted to break in. While we understand the anger and frustration felt by so many — this type of response has complicated our ability to lean in fully and has distracted from the actual search. All threats have been taken seriously by the FBI and local law enforcement.
Our priority is to find out where our boys are and their safe return. The truth has to and will come to light. There are also four other children affected that our family is working overtime to protect and shield from this nightmare.
We thank those who are standing in the gap by searching as volunteers and fully supporting all law enforcement agencies in fully investigating all possible scenarios and leaving no stone unturned. For those who have attacked us, wish us harm and ill will — we will continue to pray for you and ask that you direct your energy on helping the actual search.
If you have any information that can lead to the location of Orrin and Orson and unpack what has happened, please contact the following agencies:
The Federal Bureau of Investigations — LA Field Office (310) 477–6565 *Covers the Central District of California
California City Police Department (760) 373–8606
Bakersfield Police Department (661) 327–7111
