UT UT - Garrett Bardsley, 12, Cuberant Lake, 20 Aug 2004

I heard on Greta just now that he got wet & was told to go back to change his clothes...What I don't understand is the fact that he had to walk 1/2 mile by himself!!! To me, that's totally irresponsible of the camp counselor would send a 'child' alone in the wilderness, it's just so dangerous out there. I hope & pray they find that little boy.
 
i am also praying for Garrett...God i hope to hear he is found cold, hungry, and ALIVE!!
 
Weather Hampers Search for Utah Scout
Tuesday, August 24, 2004

SALT LAKE CITY — A search resumed Tuesday for a 12-year-old Boy Scout missing in the Uinta Mountains (search), but chilly, wet weather has dimmed hopes that rescuers will find him alive, officials said.

Garrett Bardsley (search) of Elk Ridge was last seen Friday morning, when his father, Kevin, sent him back to the scout troop's camp after the boy got his shoes and pants wet while fishing, said sheriff's Capt. Joe Offret.

"The likelihood of finding a responsive individual at this point is extremely low," Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds said Monday.

Since Friday, the Mirror Lake-Pass Lake (search) area, about 53 miles east of Salt Lake City, has had freezing overnight temperatures, intermittent hail and daytime temperatures hovering only in the 40s.

On Monday and again Tuesday, officials limited the search to professionals out of concern for the safety of untrained volunteers in the poor weather and rugged conditions, Offret said. Volunteers had taken part over the weekend.

"We haven't given up hope. We don't want to leave Garrett on this mountain," said Kevin Bardsley, his voice breaking. "We want to bring him home."

The campsite has been described variously as 150 yards to a quarter mile from the lake on a well-established path. Bardsley said his son wanted to return to the camp and said he knew the way.

Garrett, who was wearing sweat pants, a T-shirt and a hooded sweat shirt, had no provisions or backpack, and the possibility the boy has died of hypothermia (search) is very real, officials said.

No longer assuming Garrett can hear people calling, searchers were checking under logs and rocks where he might have sought shelter.

Last September, Carole Wetherton, 58, and her daughter, Kimberly Beverly, 39, vanished in the same general area when the weather turned bad. Fragments of their remains were not found until June.

It was a happier outcome last month, when another Boy Scout, a 13-year-old, got separated from his troop during a backpacking trip and spent two days hiking alone before rescuers found him.

www.foxnews.com

I pray its not too late for this little guy. This boy's father is never going to forgive himself. Unfortunately, some people think that kids need to "learn to grow up." I agree with the poster above who mentioned the "buddy system."
 
I have been praying for Garrett several times a day. His story has touched my heart especially b/c he reminds me a lot of my own son, or what I think my son will look like at 12 (he's almost 8 now). God be with this family and God comfort the father, who will feel the guilt for the rest of his life.

If the campsite was indeed a quarter mile away, I don't know how they can know that it's not a stranger abduction. Anything can happen in that distance. I almost hope he HAS been taken, b/c then there is a chance, however remote, that he would be released unharmed.
 
There is also the hope that the boy, being 12 and possibly angry if his father happened to get angry about his getting wet, is hanging out in a cave, waiting for someone to get close enough for him to yell for help. Sounds stupid, but I had this friend when I was younger, did exactly that, because he was ticked off at his father for chewing him out in front of others. He could have survived a blizzard with what he had set up.

That would only apply if the boy had any reason to want to get back at anyone, though. If he just chose to go back and get some dry clothes, that chance would be out.

Odd that staying in pairs is not required in Utah. Maybe it's an unspoken rule here.
 
This just break's my heart. I have a 12 year old grandson. I would never even have let him go back to Camp.........never. I would have walked back to Camp with him.
xxxxxxxxxoooooooo
mama

Latest news.......

Missing Scout search a 'recovery operation'
Wednesday, August 25, 2004 Posted: 0048 GMT (0848 HKT)



Searchers set out to look for Garrett Bardsley in the Uinta Mountains.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- The search for a missing 12-year-old Boy Scout in a mountainous area of Utah was officially labeled a recovery operation Tuesday as authorities all but gave up hope of finding the boy alive.

"This is a great loss for my family right now," the boy's father, Kevin Bardsley, told reporters.

Garrett Bardsley was last seen Friday morning, when his father sent him back to camp after the boy got his shoes and pants wet while fishing in a pond near a lake. The campsite has been described variously as 150 yards to a quarter mile from the lake on a well-established path.

Dozens of searchers have spent the last three days searching for Garrett, who was wearing sweat pants, a T-shirt and a black hooded sweat shirt and tennis shoes. He had no food or backpack.

The search has been hampered by cold, wet weather. Rain mixed with snow fell on searchers Monday, and the temperature plunged to 18 degrees overnight. On Tuesday, the high hovered around 50 degrees, said Sheriff Dave Edmunds.

The official search likely will tail off by the end of the week, Edmunds said, "but we're never going to stop looking."

The camp is located in the Uinta Mountains, east of Salt Lake City.
 
Mom who cares said:
This link has a couple photos of the area.
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?sid=115065&nid=5

Praying for Garrett's safe return.


Sheriff Dave Edmunds: “There’s some reason to believe after talking to mom that he may have sheltered, maybe some type of shelter. He kind of went to some class with the scouts and really grasped the concept of getting into some shelter if bad weather occurred.”

Sounds like he called his Mom after he got lost :confused:
 
Jade said:
Sheriff Dave Edmunds: “There’s some reason to believe after talking to mom that he may have sheltered, maybe some type of shelter. He kind of went to some class with the scouts and really grasped the concept of getting into some shelter if bad weather occurred.”

Sounds like he called his Mom after he got lost :confused:

I hope you're right Jade but I read that too and I think that Sheriff Edmund's talked to his mom........and she then told him that her son had taken a Scout class......about getting into a shelter.

Poor little guy..............
xxxxxxxxoooooooo
mama
 
Jade said:
Sheriff Dave Edmunds: “There’s some reason to believe after talking to mom that he may have sheltered, maybe some type of shelter. He kind of went to some class with the scouts and really grasped the concept of getting into some shelter if bad weather occurred.”

Sounds like he called his Mom after he got lost :confused:

No, after talking to his mom the Sheriff says there's reason to believe he would shelter since she mentioned to him that Garrett had taken some type of class. I sure wish there was a better ending to this story! I can't even imagine what the parents are going through, and poor little Garrett being lost out there. So sad!!!!!
 
Lanie, I couldn't agree more. How dare they tell this family that they've given up hope that he's alive!!! :mad: If it were my child, I wouldn't believe he was gone until I had proof!
 
http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_233204119.html

The trained search and rescue personnel are carrying GPS locators. At the end of the day, they plug their data into computers at the search command center near Mirror Lake, about 53 miles east of Salt Lake City. When the data are laid over a topographical map, ``it's really dramatic, because you can see just how much area has been covered,'' Edmunds said.

The official search likely will tail off by the end of the week, Edmunds said, ``but we're never going to stop looking.''

The sheriff's office has tacked up posters of Garrett near trail heads and distributed them to businesses in the area. ``We have treated this like any missing child,'' Edmunds said. ``We have spared nothing.''

But it's possible Garrett's body never will be found. Over the decades, people have been lost and not found in the Uintas.

``It's just not that unusual,'' Edmunds said. ``I've worked for a lot of agencies in the state of Utah where they have bodies they've never found.''
 
Jeana (DP) said:
Lanie, I couldn't agree more. How dare they tell this family that they've given up hope that he's alive!!! :mad: If it were my child, I wouldn't believe he was gone until I had proof!
That might be so, but at 18 degrees at night, there wouldn't be ANY hope if there wasn't some chance he found shelter, especially since he was partially wet. At this point, the searchers have to search as if Garrett is unable to answer. If he could, he would have by now.
 

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