CO CO - Amadeo Vigil, 24, Colorado Springs, 11 July 1980

charleyproject.org/cases/v/vigil_amadeo.html
doenetwork.org/cases/4244dmco.html
findthemissing.org/cases/7147

Amadeo Vigil – The Charley Project

Amadeo Vigil

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Vigil, circa 1980

• Missing Since07/11/1980
• Missing FromColorado Springs, Colorado
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• Date of Birth10/11/1955 (63)
• Age24 years old
• Height and Weight5'6 - 5'7, 130 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionAn off-white shirt, Levi's jeans, maroon sneakers with gold stripes, a silver neck chain with a quarter-sized round happy face medallion, and a leather necklace with African beads.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsHispanic male. Brown hair, brown/green eyes. Vigil has a faded scar on his forehead, a small burn scar on his right arm and numerous small brown moles on his back. He had a full beard at the time of his disappearance.

Details of Disappearance
Vigil was last seen at the intersection of Interstate 25 and Highway 50, near the Bijou Street exit, in Colorado Springs, Colorado at 4:00 p.m. on July 11, 1980. He was hitchhiking to meet a friend in Fort Garland, Colorado, over 130 miles away. He never arrived and has never been heard from again.

When he went missing, Vigil was carrying a green backpack with a leather bottom and a rust-colored nylon wallet manufactured by Rainbow Co. He may have had a ticket from a Colorado Springs pawnshop inside his wallet.

Vigil was a college student at the time of his disappearance, majoring in Spanish. Few details are available in his case, but foul play is suspected.
Investigating Agency

• Colorado Springs Police Department 719-444-7615

Source Information

• NamUs
• People Magazine
• The Doe Network
• Colorado Bureau of Investigation

Bumping

“If Amadeo had been planning to leave for good he would have taken his money and sleeping bag. but he left both behind," said his mother.

Cucaracha, La August 29, 1980 — Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection

Touching article by Amadeo's mother, Ella Cobos.

"In the 26½ years since her son vanished, Ella Cobos has kept her double front doors bright pink. “Those can’t be changed,” says Cobos, 71, of Colorado Springs. “If he would ever come home and wasn’t sure of where he was at, the pink doors would give him the answer.”

Never Give Up

"When it's your child, you never stop looking", says Ella Cobos (with son Amadeo's photo and his truck).

http://seanibus.com/images/NeverGiveUp.pdf

A LOS DESAPARECIDOS
(de cualquier lugar de la Tierra)

Nunca más los volvimos a ver, nunca más sus olores tuvimos, nunca más el calor de su piel, nunca más sus sueños y caprichos.

Sólo a veces suspender la pena, sólo a veces retener el llanto, sólo a veces la vida serena,
sólo a veces callar el espanto.

Para siempre sus primeros pasos, para siempre su amor en las noches, para siempre de mamá el regazo, para siempre sus risas, sus voces.

Nunca más compartiendo la cena, nunca más levantando las copas, nunca más un lugar en la mesa, nunca más el sabor de sus bocas.

Sólo a veces reírnos un poco, sólo a veces despejar la mente, sólo a veces no sentirnos solos, sólo a veces olvidar su muerte.

Para siempre en el alma instalados, para siempre escuchar sus latidos, para siempre querer abrazarlos, para siempre soñar que están vivos.

Daniel Adrián Madeiro

Where did you go? Where are you, Amadeo Vigil?

Sadly, I did some searching today and could not find anything new on this guy's case.

“If he would ever come home and wasn’t sure of where he was at, the pink doors would give him the answer.”

Never Give Up

The doors are still painted pink.

Today is your 66th birthday.
The doors are still painted pink...

You went missing 42 years ago today.
In 2014 the doors were still painted pink...and I believe they still are.



MOO JMO

Amadeo Vigil has been missing for 43 years today.

July 21, 2023

Amadeo Vigil, age 24, went missing from Colorado Springs, Colorado on July 11, 1980.

Amadeo left his home at 2415 Astron Drive on the afternoon of his disappearance, intending to hitchhike to the San Luis Valley. He planned to stop in Fort Garland along the way to visit a friend.

A driver claimed to have picked him up in Colorado Springs, dropping him off near the intersection of I-25 and Highway 50, carrying a green backpack with leather trim. He was never seen again.

Amadeo’s family quickly suspected foul play had occurred when he didn’t return home. He hadn’t taken any money, change of clothes or his cherished watch that he normally wore everywhere.

His family distributed flyers throughout Colorado and enlisted volunteers to perform searches, but there was no sign of Amadeo.

His mother stated that she would sit at the intersection where he was reportedly dropped off, writing down the license plates of all the vehicles that passed through. She would then obtain the names of the registered owners and contact them, asking if they might have driven by around the same time on July 11, possibly catching a glimpse of her son.

This is not a tactic I can recall ever seeing before, but it was a really good idea. People had routines – they usually went to work and back home again around the same time each day. Unfortunately, none of them recalled seeing Amadeo.

Amadeo was a year from graduating college, and planned to pursue a masters degree after graduation. He was a deejay at Colorado College radio station KRCC; he emceed the Spanish Hour every Sunday. He was active in the Chicano student organization called MEChA.

Outside of school, he enjoyed reading, rock climbing, skiing and bike riding.

Note: Most sources state that Amadeo vanished on July 21, 1980. Since the article published near the time states July 11, I am using that date. I’ve also seen his age reported as 21, but Ancestry records support his age being 24 in July 1980.