The last time anyone saw 12-year-old Garrett Bardsley was around 8 a.m. on August 20, 2004. He and his father, Kevin, were at Cuberant Lake in the Uinta Mountains in Summit County, Utah, for a Boy Scouts camping trip.
They arrived at the campsite on Thursday, August 19, with 18 Boy Scouts and seven adults. They planned to leave on Saturday.
Garrett and his father got up early on the morning of August 20 to go fishing at the lake. When Garrett’s shoes and pants got wet, he headed back to the campsite to change into some dry clothes. It was about 150 yards away. However, he never made it back to the campsite and has never been heard from again.
Kevin had decided to let his son walk the short distance back to camp, as they had been up and down the trail several times before. He kept his eyes on Garrett and even shouted directions to him. After 20 minutes, Garrett still wasn’t back yet. So, he returned to camp, only to be told that no one had seen Garrett there.
Hundreds of people searched the area from the air, on foot, on horseback, and with bloodhounds. The ice-fishing pole that Garrett had been carrying never turned up. He was not carrying a backpack or any food.
One of Garrett’s Nike socks was found lodged between some boulders about a half a mile from where Garrett had vanished. According to the sheriff, the sock appeared to have been removed from a wet foot and wadded up.
Given the sock’s location, it is believed that Garrett may have sought shelter from the cold weather in the rock outcropping. But later, DNA testing showed that it was not his sock after all.
The terrain in the area where he disappeared was very rough. That day, the temperature was near freezing. It had also rained and hailed. On the night of his disappearance, the temperature would have dropped to around 18 degrees.
After nine days, the official search for Garrett was called off. The police determined that there was not enough evidence to point to an abduction. They believed that he became lost on his way back to the campsite and died of exposure.
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Many family members, friends, and volunteers continued search efforts until October. They started the search back up when winter was over, but no other trace of him was found.
In 2005, Kevin started the Garrett Bardsley Foundation, which helps families with missing loved ones.
At the time of Garrett’s disappearance, he had shoulder-length hair and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, reversible black and red sweatpants, and white Converse tennis shoes.
Over two decades later, his case remains unsolved. Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Garrett Bardsley is urged to contact the Summit County Sheriff’s Office at (435) 615-3500.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
