A third day of searching for a 12-year-old Eagle Ridge boy missing in the Uinta Mountains proved fruitless Sunday as more than 200 volunteers — many of them from the boy's LDS ward and stake — searched into the night without success.
They are looking for Garrett Bardsley, who was last seen by his father in the Pass Lake area Friday morning. More than a dozen members of Troop 694 and a number of adults, including Bardsley and his father Kevin, were camping in the Uintas as part of a planned three-day Scouting activity.
Garrett Bardsley was last seen about 8 a.m. on Friday when his father sent him back to camp after the Scout apparently got wet while fishing. The camp was reportedly less than a quarter-mile from the Cuberant Lake fishing site.
The Summit County Sheriff's office was notified about 11 a.m. on Friday and the search was initiated.
Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds did not return messages to the Deseret Morning News on Sunday.
His emergency dispatchers said the boy had not been found late Sunday. Communication between the command center in the mountains where Edmunds spent the day and the sheriff's office in Silver Summit had been sporadic.
But Edmunds told KSL-TV that he has not given up on finding the boy alive.
"We're hopeful. We remain cautiously optimistic but as time goes on it becomes less and less likely, unfortunately," he said.
About 200 volunteers searched for the boy. Fliers were posted at trailheads and distributed to hikers and campers. Search dogs, helicopters and a Wasatch County search and rescue plane looked for the boy Sunday.
Edmunds asked for no more volunteers because 200 was all that's necessary. Additional people could get hurt in the rough terrain.
The area had rain, hail and cold temperatures. "We're going to continue to search until we find something," Edmunds said.
Edmunds feels they have an obligation to the family and the boy to continue searching, he said.
The bishop of the boy's LDS ward said regular church services were held Sunday, but would not elaborate on specific actions by ward members.
Bishop Brian Anderson said he had been directed to refer all media calls to Stake President Dean Egbert. Egbert and other stake leaders were reportedly at the search site on Sunday and were not available for comment.
The boy's father has been taking part in the search, joined Sunday by members of the family's church congregation. The boy's mother, who had been on a cruise, arrived Sunday.
Some of the searchers were on horseback and helicopters and a plane aided the search. Rocky Mountain Rescue and American Search dog teams also took part.
Edmunds said lost children usually are found within two miles of where they disappeared. Searchers combed that area and have begun expanding the search area.
The sheriff said that in the early stages of the search, it was assumed the boy would be able to hear people calling. They are no longer assuming that and are checking under logs and rocks, anywhere he might have taken shelter.
Bardsley is the second Boy Scout to become lost in the High Uintas in the past month. A 13-year-old Scout from West Valley, who had become separated from his troop, was missing for two days in the wilderness area before he was found July 30.
Contributing: Associated Press
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