Very well-said. Much meat here, but I will confine myself to one thing: the apparent dying declaration. These indeed, and rightly, carry much heft. From what source does this apparent declaration come? Does anyone have a link? It sounds almost too good to be true, like something rumored which over time has become regarded as truth. But maybe!
To the best of my knowledge, the deathbed confession was mentioned in this website which perhaps the member got it from local news sources or LE. But I do not recall ever seeing the information cited for a source.
I think it might also have been reported at the Help crack a cold case site. I think I have seen it somewhere else besides here. If reported at the latter, it adds to the tale's reputable provenance, if not necessarily its actual credence. Not for certain, however. I need to see a published source before I'd even consider to decide if it were true.
I believe this is what you are talking about : “In September of 1998 an explosive revelation came as a man was about to die. Because he was dying he told Delta sheriff’s investigators that he wanted to clear his conscience. He said back in 1981 when Roger disappeared he and another man were poaching for deer in the forest when they came upon Roger. They said Ellison had his hands tied and was being led at gun point. The men heard two gunshots shortly afterward. The witness, who passed a polygraph test according to a report by (Lori Cumpston) Harrison, gave a description of a man they allegedly saw with Ellison. The second man was interviewed and corroborated the story, according to a Sept. 16, 1998 story in the Montrose Daily Press. The lead investigator at the time, Dave Duncan, said the two men identified a man who had left the area. There had been rumors circulating previously that this person was involved in Ellison’s disappearance, (former Delta sheriff Bill) Blair told the newspaper, but they have never been verified. He believed that people who had information about the case had not come forward. ‘There have been rumors out there the person may have played a role but it has never been proven other than a lot of people pointing fingers,’ he said. ‘There are people out there that know and won’t come forward.’” (BBM) More at the link: Cedaredge High School student possibly kidnapped at gunpoint, led into woods
It was reported in the Montrose Daily on Sept. 16th, 1998. Despite witnesses, trail if missing Cedaredge teen still cold
Shocking about the length of time ...Someone knows, and is that someone a teacher...He was last seen at the lockers in high school from memory.
How long must we sing this song? ("40"-1983)) Who will be the knight to capture this swine? Why so long ?
It's been almost 40 years since 17-year-old Roger Ellison, a popular A-student with seemingly no reason to disappear, vanished from his Western Slope high school. Ellison was last seen getting his books from his school locker in the small Delta County town of Cedaredge. He never made it to his next class and never came home that day, according to the Denver Post. Despite posters being distributed — and his family offering an $8,000 reward for information — Ellison has never been found. For months after Roger's disappearance, his father, Ernest, reportedly stood at a curb waiting for the school bus that once dropped off his son. He would scan the students getting off, hang his head and cry when he didn't see Roger, according to the Post. Ernest died of a heart attack the spring after Roger's disappearance. Missing children: 8 Colorado kids who vanished without a trace
