CO CO - Christopher Harvey, 14, Hinsdale County, 11 July 1984

[azrt66]

Quote RSBM.
We hope they would have been noticed, but it's not a fact that they would have been noticed.

Also if a "stranger" would have been seen, why wouldn't something else suspicious have been heard or seen?

I'll go into a little more detail on this. There is only one road to access the campground which passes the store. To even get there you have to make numerous turns down several winding roads. The front of the store has big windows so nobody can drive into or out of the community without being seen. It is a small property only 32 campsites and 7 rental cabins adjacent to the store. The entire campground is only a few acres in size. It's been rented out before for filming movies since it is scenic and isolated. There are no major highways nearby. The closest is nearly 20 miles south in Pagosa Springs. There are no through roads in the area. They are all dead end since it's the base of mountains/forest. In fact, it's right at the border of two counties. It took several hours from the Sheriff of Hinsdale County to come from Lake City. He had to drive east around the mountains then south through 3 other counties and back north from Pagosa Springs (Archuletta County) to reach this detached portion of his county. The Harvey's had a dog along with several other sites at the campground. Any abduction or intruder would have sounded off the dogs. Police spoke with neighbors, store employees, and the campground owners to verify that no unknown vehicles or persons were spotted that day. Here are some photos for reference. The first is the Harvey family at the campground years before the disappearance. Chris is sitting in the red shirt with his parents across from him. The second is the campground store and the dirt road entrance to the property.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

@azrt66 It sounds like in your opinion, there wasn't a non-familial abduction. What do you think about these possibilities:
- CH took off for nature and became lost and succumbed to the elements, or had a tragic accident in a place he just was not found?
- CH visited someone at the campground who was not related to him but whom he knew (not an outsider/ stranger), and his fate was met at their hands?

I can think of two other possibilities that also don't include stranger abduction but will leave it for now...

 

[azrt66]

@azrt66 It sounds like in your opinion, there wasn't a non-familial abduction. What do you think about these possibilities:
- CH took off for nature and became lost and succumbed to the elements, or had a tragic accident in a place he just was not found?
- CH visited someone at the campground who was not related to him but whom he knew (not an outsider/ stranger), and his fate was met at their hands?

I can think of two other possibilities that also don't include stranger abduction but will leave it for now...

Yes I think either of those is plausible based on the data available. One of the articles notes that Chris liked to explore nearby ice caves but investigators weren't sure they ever located the ice caves he talked to his parents about. A quick search reveals ice caves not far from the campground that are a well-known attraction. Since Hinsdale County was leading the search they may not have become very familiar with the area. Another article mentions that just a few days before he went missing he and his father did a 33-mile hike together along the nearby Continental Divide Trail. He spent a great deal of time outdoors and was well suited to handle the elements. If he had planned to hike that day he would have taken some gear but his parents say he disappeared with nothing but the clothes on his back and a small amount of change. (I find it kind of odd that they provided the specific amount of .35 cents)

I spoke to family friends that say the parents returned every summer to keep searching for their son. The area has been heavily explored in the nearly 40-years since he disappeared. Often bones are scattered by wildlife and the elements. But certain items, such as his notable shoes and inscribed belt buckle, would be easily identifiable evidence if found.

 

[azrt66]

The only reason we have a glimpse at the FBI investigation is from records of a budget hearing. The Harveys had gotten help from their local representative Kent Hance. He is well known and politically connected in Texas including (then) Senator Phil Gramm. It was in this hearing that Senator Gramm brings up the Harvey case. The FBI provides basic overview of the case and their standard procedures for such matters. In response to a follow-up question the FBI seemingly random slips in the details that Chris had an argument with his father the day of his disappearance. That comment doesn't seem relative to their discussions at the time but was intentionally noted. In one of the interviews Mrs. Harvey praises the Hinsdale County Sheriff's Office (which treated the case as an abduction) and chastised the FBI saying they became "uncooperative" with the family.

FBI document - HarveyFBIFile.pdf

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Anniversary of disappearance today.

 

[CastlesBurning]

In 1984, This 14-Year-Old Boy Took His Dog For A Walk In The Woods: His Dog Returned Home, But He Was Never Seen Or Heard From Again

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Anniversary of disappearance today

 

[Ciriii57]

@azrt66 Thank-you for all your wok in this, I enjoyed reading it and especially the photos and articles you made available. Thank you.

I am most struck by the behaviour of the family dog, it sounds like Chris was the dog's best friend. I find it hard to believe that if some accident had befallen Chris the dog would stroll back home and not indicate something. Was the family dog ever let out and followed? It also sounds like the dog managed to find his way back in a short amount of time and wasn't noticeably exhausted or stressed (at least this wasn't noted) which suggests to me that whatever happened was not too far away from the Harvey's trailer
I struggle with the accident idea because the area has been searched so thoroughly for 40 years.

I couldn't click on the link from earlier that said a lady was convinced she saw him in California, was this ever seriously considered credible?

I get the impression there is some suspicion about the Dad. Would he really have continued to search and even move to the area so he could search more often if he had some knowledge? I'm not sure, I feel he has lived with decades of guilt knowing his last words to his son were in anger and this might explain his behaviour.

Abduction...it seems a strange place for a kidnapper to be lingering, it woukd have to be very random.

The sniffer dogs only indicated as far as the camp store. I'm not really knowledgeable about sniffer dog's but since Chris had presumably been all over that camp why did they only indicate here? Didn't they take them into the surrounding woods and trails which hs where he probably walked the dog.

I'm stuck with this one, I can't see a logical explanation. What are your own theories if I may ask please and why? I'm really interested to hear.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I'm stuck with this one, I can't see a logical explanation. What are your own theories if I may ask please and why? I'm really interested to hear.

I feel something is missing, as far as why "foul play is suspected." We need to know why it's suspected. Because I think the most likely scenario is that he took off into the woods and became lost deep in the forest, or he had an accident (cave, cliff, etc.)

There are many cases of people known to have been lost in forests and their remains located decades later or, sadly, never. So I just think it's statistically likely, but I'm guessing really.

It's so very sad for his family.