Other families pleased — but feel a twinge

When the Bardsley family heard that another young Boy Scout was missing just miles from where their son Garrett disappeared last August, there was no question in their minds that they would help search for the missing boy.

"When we came off this mountain in the winter, my friends and I decided right then, if anyone came missing, we'd be there immediately," said Garrett's father, Kevin Bardsley.

He was true to his word.

Garrett's father provided crucial assistance in the search for 11-year-old Brennan Hawkins. And as the Hawkins family thanked searchers Tuesday afternoon, Kevin Bardsley's name was the first mentioned.

But as word came Tuesday that Brennan Hawkins had been found alive in the same rugged Uinta Mountains terrain that has yet to yield Garrett, the Bardsleys were filled with mixed emotions.

After all, the Hawkins family got the happy ending the Bardsleys never did.

Kevin Bardsley politely declined interview requests Tuesday, saying, "Not today. Today is not a good day."

They are happy, of course, for the family whose prayers were answered. But they are sad, obviously, that, unlike Brennan Hawkins, Garrett's fate remains a mystery.

The Richard and Tamara Davis family of Spanish Fork knows the Bardsleys' pain.

Their 15-year-old daughter Kiplyn disappeared 10 years ago. Her purse and make-up were found in her high school locker, but police have yet to discover what happened to her.

The Bardsleys may feel today much like the Davises did in March 2003, when Elizabeth Smart was miraculously returned to her family.

The Davises watched the return of the missing Utah teenager with happiness — but also with a twinge of jealousy.

"I can only imagine what that would be like, to have her come home," said Tamara Davis, at the time. "I'm a bit envious of them. Over in my mind so many times I've imagined a reunion, having our family together again."

Richard Davis said Tuesday he is overjoyed for the Hawkins family.

"I'm just happy for them and thrilled that things have turned out OK," he said. "I've been watching it on TV, and could see the pain and the agony that (the Hawkins family has) been going through, and know exactly the feelings that they're feeling. And I'm just so glad that they found him."

But Davis also sympathizes with the Bardsleys.

"You feel for Kevin and his family," he said. "I know them, and you know they feel the same way I do: They just want a closure so they can put that little body in the proper place.

"I wish I could have the same conclusion that the Smarts and this little boy's family had, but I'm not going to have that," he said.