# 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.

## Background

Adventures with Purpose (AWP) was founded by Oregon-based Jared Leisek in 2018. They began as an environmental cleanup agency, removing cars that were polluting waterways. Doug Bishop, a diver and manager of a towing company, also joined the group. 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. The channel receives tip-offs and requests from the public through their social media accounts. They do not pursue rewards from family or charge the families or police involved, but will not reject rewards if given. Instead, AWP funds its searches through video views, subscribers, donations, and merchandise sales. 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. The Kazmerzak family donated an undisclosed amount.
On May 12, 2022, founder Jared Leisek registered a new company, Underwater Investigations LLC, which now holds the rights to Adventures with Purpose. On December 13, 2024, Underwater Investigations LLC filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against former employee Joshua Cantu. Joshua alleges that the lawsuit stems from his posting behind-the-scenes videos of Adventures with Purpose before the formation of Underwater Investigations LLC. The case was filed the same day Joshua's family welcomed a baby around Christmas. Messages shared by Joshua reportedly show Jared joking about the lawsuit's timing, suggesting it was intended to cause maximum disruption. Joshua asserts that the lawsuit is a personal attack by Jared, meant to intimidate other former employees who left the company following allegations that Jared raped a 9-year-old family relative. He also claims the lawsuit lacks merit. The case remains pending.
In October 2022, the team had six members. 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, and lead videographer Joshua Cantu subsequently left the team. On January 5, 2023, Leisek was charged in Sanpete County, Utah. On September 5, 2024, The prosecution declared that they intended to use previous cases against Jared, prior criminal activity, as well as any illegal conduct related to children involved in the case as well as outside of the case. This could include a lengthy criminal record including charges for pointing a gun at a man in a parking lot. Jared's lawyers objected to the use of previous criminal records. On September 18, 2024, Jared accepted a plea deal, which triggered a motion to seal. The motion was filed for the case. The motion was approved and the record was sealed on September 19, 2024.
On January 7, 2023, Adventures with Purpose announced they are on a 3-month tour with a new team of divers and filmmakers.

## Search process

At the identified waterbody, 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.

## Cases

The team usually deals with cold cases, 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. Certain recent cases may be incidental while searching the waterbody for a cold case. As of November, 2024, the group has solved 33 missing person cases (the chart below counts mother Samantha Hopper and daughter Courtney Holt as one case.) AWP also sometimes cooperates with other teams with the same purpose, such as Exploring with Nug, Chaos Divers and Sunshine State Sonar.
Cases solved :
| Case | Name | Age | Missing | Found | Location |
| 1 | Nathan Ashby | 22 | July 31, 2019 | December 29, 2019 | Missouri River, Pinckney Township, Missouri 38°39′38″N 91°14′38″W﻿ / ﻿38.6606°N 91.2438°W﻿ / 38.6606; -91.2438 |
| 2 | Timothy Robinson | 56 | November 26, 2008 | May 26, 2020 | Willamette River, Milwaukie, Oregon 45°26′36″N 122°38′41″W﻿ / ﻿45.4433°N 122.6446°W﻿ / 45.4433; -122.6446 |
| 3 | Nicholas Allen | 17 | February 20, 2020 | October 1, 2020 | Yadkin River, Linwood, North Carolina 35°43′23″N 80°23′29″W﻿ / ﻿35.7231°N 80.3913°W﻿ / 35.7231; -80.3913 |
| 4 | Ethan Kazmerzak | 22 | September 15, 2013 | October 26, 2020 | Chapin, Iowa 42°48′22″N 93°13′04″W﻿ / ﻿42.80618°N 93.2178°W﻿ / 42.80618; -93.2178 |
| 5 | Bill Simmons | 57 | June 15, 2020 | January 26, 2021 | Cumberland River, Nashville, Tennessee 36°14′42″N 86°42′08″W﻿ / ﻿36.2451°N 86.7021°W﻿ / 36.2451; -86.7021 |
| 6 | Antonio Amaro Lopez | 57 | February 14, 2021 | February 17, 2021 | Columbia River, Portland, Oregon 45°35′28″N 122°32′53″W﻿ / ﻿45.5910°N 122.5481°W﻿ / 45.5910; -122.5481 |
| 7 | Tammy Goff | 59 | July 12, 2018 | May 14, 2021 | Missouri River, Great Falls, Montana 47°23′52″N 111°19′01″W﻿ / ﻿47.3979°N 111.3170°W﻿ / 47.3979; -111.3170 |
| 8 | Richard Ritz | 74 | September 13, 2020 | June 3, 2021 | Willamette River, Cathedral Park, Oregon 45°35′14″N 122°45′54″W﻿ / ﻿45.5871°N 122.7651°W﻿ / 45.5871; -122.7651 |
| 9 | John Zarkowski | 72 | September 4, 2021 | September 22, 2021 | Missouri River, Plattsmouth, Nebraska 41°00′52″N 95°52′07″W﻿ / ﻿41.0145°N 95.8685°W﻿ / 41.0145; -95.8685 |
| 10 | Nadine Moses | 84 | May 4, 2021 | September 25, 2021 | St. Clair River, Marine City, Michigan 42°42′22″N 82°29′47″W﻿ / ﻿42.7062°N 82.4965°W﻿ / 42.7062; -82.4965 |
| 11 | Charles Fluharty | 57 | October 19, 2014 | October 5, 2021 | Yellow Creek, Yellow Creek Township, Ohio 40°34′24″N 80°40′02″W﻿ / ﻿40.5732°N 80.6671°W﻿ / 40.5732; -80.6671 |
| 12 | Carey Mae Parker | 23 | March 17, 1991 | October 16, 2021 | Lake Tawakoni, Hawk Cove, Texas 32°52′04″N 96°04′13″W﻿ / ﻿32.8678°N 96.0703°W﻿ / 32.8678; -96.0703 |
| 13 | Thomas Thornton | 72 | March 24, 2021 | October 24, 2021 | Toledo Bend Reservoir, Shelby County, Texas 31°45′05″N 93°50′37″W﻿ / ﻿31.7514°N 93.8436°W﻿ / 31.7514; -93.8436 |
| 14 | Samantha Hopper | 19 | September 11, 1998 | October 26, 2021 | Lake Dardanelle, Russellville, Arkansas 35°19′16″N 93°08′49″W﻿ / ﻿35.3211°N 93.1470°W﻿ / 35.3211; -93.1470 |
| 14 | Courtney Holt | 1 | September 11, 1998 | October 26, 2021 | Lake Dardanelle, Russellville, Arkansas 35°19′16″N 93°08′49″W﻿ / ﻿35.3211°N 93.1470°W﻿ / 35.3211; -93.1470 |
| 15 | Jeff Shepherd | 30 | March 14, 2018 | December 5, 2021 | Strunk, Kentucky 36°38′48″N 84°26′00″W﻿ / ﻿36.6466°N 84.4332°W﻿ / 36.6466; -84.4332 |
| 16 | Stephanie Torres | 42 | December 21, 2017 | January 19, 2022 | Brazos River, Waco, Texas 31°34′57″N 97°09′06″W﻿ / ﻿31.5825°N 97.1517°W﻿ / 31.5825; -97.1517 |
| 17 | Annie Lee Hampton | 66 | October 10, 2019 | January 28, 2022 | Bear Creek Lake, Marianna, Arkansas 34°42′32″N 90°41′38″W﻿ / ﻿34.7090°N 90.6940°W﻿ / 34.7090; -90.6940 |
| 18 | Margaret "Jan" Shupe Smith | 59 | April 2, 2021 | February 2, 2022 | Lakeland, Florida 28°08′19″N 81°56′49″W﻿ / ﻿28.1387°N 81.9470°W﻿ / 28.1387; -81.9470 |
| 19 | James Amabile | 38 | December 4, 2003 | March 19, 2022 | Darby Creek, Ridley Township, Pennsylvania 39°52′14″N 75°18′47″W﻿ / ﻿39.8705°N 75.3130°W﻿ / 39.8705; -75.3130 |
| 20 | Dedrick Smith | 26 | October 4, 2006 | April 1, 2022 | Winston Lake, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 36°06′57″N 80°12′10″W﻿ / ﻿36.1159°N 80.2028°W﻿ / 36.1159; -80.2028 |
| 21 | Matthew "Jed" Hall | 16 | January 22, 2018 | May 1, 2022 | Snake River, Idaho Falls, Idaho 43°30′17″N 112°02′56″W﻿ / ﻿43.5046°N 112.0490°W﻿ / 43.5046; -112.0490 |
| 22 | Ralph Brown | 77 | May 16, 2021 | May 13, 2022 | Willamette River, Newberg, Oregon 45°17′07″N 122°58′05″W﻿ / ﻿45.2853°N 122.9681°W﻿ / 45.2853; -122.9681 |
| 23 | Kiely Rodni | 16 | August 6, 2022 | August 21, 2022 | Prosser Creek Reservoir, Truckee, California 39°22′58″N 120°09′29″W﻿ / ﻿39.3829°N 120.1581°W﻿ / 39.3829; -120.1581 |
| 24 | Donald Messier | 34 | October 15, 2006 | October 5, 2022 | Winooski River, Duxbury, Vermont 44°19′51″N 72°45′30″W﻿ / ﻿44.3307°N 72.7582°W﻿ / 44.3307; -72.7582 |
| 25 | Tod DiMinno | 54 | September 30, 2022 | October 8, 2022 | Allegheny River, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 26 | Dale Nicholson | 61 | December 10, 2016 | January 23, 2023 | River Derwent, Tasmania, Australia 42°46′39″S 147°03′36″E﻿ / ﻿42.777592°S 147.060017°E﻿ / -42.777592; 147.060017 |
| 27 | Jacob VanZant | 24 | February 17, 2023 | April 15, 2023 | San Joaquin River, Stockton, California 38°03′37″N 121°29′59″W﻿ / ﻿38.060259°N 121.499616°W﻿ / 38.060259; -121.499616 |
| 28 | Rochelle Stanfield | 84 | March 6, 2023 | May 5, 2023 | Mississippi River, Tiptonville, Tennessee 36°21′59″N 89°30′22″W﻿ / ﻿36.366390°N 89.506233°W﻿ / 36.366390; -89.506233 |
| 29 | Maureen Sherman | 47 | May 1, 1985 | January 5, 2024 | Miami, Florida |
| 30 | Kareem Tisdale | 30 | December 16, 2005 | January 6, 2024 | Sunrise, Florida |
| 31 | Arnel Nagal Narvaiz | 36 | July 1, 1994 | April 13, 2024 | Sutton Slough, California |
| 32 | Karmen Neilson | 62 | November 20, 2016 | July 24, 2024 | Sacramento River, Sacramento, California |
| 33 | Eddie Pullin | 27 | October 19, 2024 | November 9, 2024 | Columbia River, Portland, Oregon |

## Footnotes

* ↑ The AWP YouTube channel was registered in July 2018