Max DeVries: The 14-Year-Old Who Vanished in Aruba
A Family Holiday That Ended in Tragedy
In May 2004, 14-year-old Max DeVries traveled to Aruba with his mother, Yvonne, and his 12-year-old sister, Dominique.
The family had recently experienced the sudden death of Max’s father. The trip was supposed to give them some time together—a chance to step away from their grief and enjoy a family holiday.
Instead, it became the beginning of a mystery that has lasted for more than two decades.
During the first days of the vacation, Max spent time around the resort and met 36-year-old David Stacey Jr., who was staying there with his 55-year-old adoptive father, David Stacey Sr.
The two became friendly.
Their families spent time together, including meals and activities around the resort. Max went parasailing and later went jet skiing with David Jr.
Then came the outing that changed everything.
The Jet Ski Ride
On May 12, David Sr. asked Max if he wanted to go back out on the water.
Yvonne was reportedly reluctant. Max had already spent time jet skiing, and she was uncomfortable with him going out again.
But Max wanted to go.
Eventually, his mother agreed.
Max left the beach with David Sr. on a wave runner. The trip was expected to take roughly 45 minutes.
Forty-five minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Max still hadn’t returned.
Yvonne contacted the rental company, and a search began.
People started looking across the water for the missing teenager and the man who had taken him out.
Eventually, David Sr. was found several miles offshore and brought back to land.
Max was nowhere to be found.
An Account Full of Questions
David Sr. told investigators that he and Max had traveled toward a sandbar and that Max’s wave runner had experienced mechanical problems.
He reportedly said he attempted to tow Max’s watercraft, but the two eventually became separated.
During questioning, however, his account was reportedly inconsistent, with different explanations given about how the separation occurred and what happened afterward.
There were also questions about injuries David Sr. had when rescuers found him. He reportedly had scratches and wounds on his face, neck, and arms.
Yvonne wanted those injuries examined more closely.
According to accounts of the case, she requested additional testing, including DNA testing beneath David Sr.’s fingernails, and asked that he undergo a polygraph examination.
Those requests, according to the available account, were not carried out.
Meanwhile, search crews continued looking for Max.
Boats and aircraft were involved in the search, but nothing belonging to Max was recovered and his body was never found.
One possibility considered by authorities was that Max had been lost at sea.
His mother never accepted that explanation as the answer to what happened to her son.
Questions About the Two Men
David Jr. was not on the jet ski trip.
According to the statement he later gave to Aruba police, he had remained at the hotel. He said that he eventually went down to the beach because he was looking for his father and Max, waited for them, and then returned to the hotel.
He reportedly said he was asleep when he received a telephone call informing him that the two were missing.
Years later, additional questions began surrounding the relationship between David Jr. and his adoptive father.
There are reports alleging that David Jr. had previously told police, in 1981, that he had been a victim of alleged crimes against children involving his father. The available information does not establish enough reliable detail to treat that allegation as fact.
Later accounts also raised questions about whether David Jr. may have played a role in gaining Max’s trust during the Aruba vacation.
Retired Michigan detective Cory Williams eventually examined the case and reportedly believed that inconsistencies surrounding Max’s disappearance warranted further scrutiny.
One theory considered was that David Jr. could have helped Max feel comfortable with the two men before David Sr. took him out onto the water.
But this remained a theory.
Neither David Sr. nor David Jr. was ever charged in connection with Max’s disappearance.
New Claims Emerge Years Later
In 2016, Yvonne received a message through Facebook from a woman who said she had previously dated David Jr.
The woman wanted to remain anonymous but claimed she had information about Max.
According to her account, she had been with David Jr. and David Sr. when Max was discussed. She said David Sr. asked whether David Jr. had ever mentioned the 14-year-old boy who disappeared in Aruba.
The woman later questioned David Jr. about Max.
She claimed he became angry and told her not to mention Max again.
She also described behavior by David Sr. around her own young son that made her uncomfortable.
Another former girlfriend of David Jr. later made her own allegations. She claimed David Jr. had once described his father as having gotten him “out of trouble in Aruba.” She also said he occasionally mentioned Max while asleep.
These were statements made by people who had known David Jr. personally. They were never proven in court, and they do not by themselves establish what happened to Max.
Still, they became part of the growing collection of unanswered questions surrounding the case.
The Polygraph That Never Happened
David Jr. was eventually questioned by investigators and reportedly agreed to take a polygraph examination.
According to accounts of the investigation, he agreed to return for the test.
He never showed up.
That left investigators without the examination they had expected to conduct, adding another unresolved detail to a case already filled with unanswered questions.
The FBI later discontinued its investigation after the agent assigned to the case was reassigned.
No criminal charges followed.
What Happened to Max?
More than twenty years have passed since Max DeVries went out onto the water in Aruba.
He was 14 years old.
He left the beach expecting to return after a short jet-ski trip.
Instead, only David Sr. came back.
Max’s body has never been recovered.
There has been no definitive explanation establishing exactly what happened between the moment Max left the beach and the moment David Sr. was found offshore.
His mother has spent years living with the uncertainty of not knowing whether her son was lost at sea or whether something else happened that afternoon.
The theories surrounding Max’s disappearance remain theories.
What is certain is that a 14-year-old boy went out on the water during a family vacation in May 2004—and never came home.
More than two decades later, his family is still waiting for an answer.
This story is based on publicly available information and reported facts. It has been independently written and presented for informational purposes. Images, if any, belong to their respective owners.