Help search for Garrett Bardsley

It's been nearly a year since 12-year-old Garrett Bardsley disappeared in the Uinta Mountains on a Boy Scout trip. Since then, Kevin Bardsley, Garrett's father, has become a familiar face in Utah — primarily during the search for his own son but more recently the successful recovery of Brennan Hawkins, a Bountiful Boy Scout who also got lost in the Uintas during a Scout outing in June. Bardsley played a key role in organizing the search for Hawkins, which had a successful conclusion.

Now Bardsley asks the community's help in a second search for his son, which will go from Thursday to Saturday. Volunteers will fan out in a four-mile radius from Cuberant Lake, where Garrett Bardsley was last seen. There are a number of ways to help, from donating cash to participating in the search itself. Utahns are encouraged to lend their support in any way possible.

Volunteer searchers need to be realistic about their own abilities, considering the rugged terrain, altitude and summer heat. Only people over 18 and in excellent physical condition should participate in the searches. Volunteer help is also needed to distribute food and water, direct traffic and help download GPS (global positioning satellite) data into computers. All volunteers need to register with the organized search effort at www.findgarrett.org. The Web site also contains information about making financial contributions.

As much as Utahns rejoiced when Brennan Hawkins was found, for many the joy was tinged with the knowledge of the Bardsleys' ongoing anguish over the disappearance of their child.

Under the circumstances, the Bardsleys have handled themselves with the utmost grace. They literally embraced the Hawkins family when 11-year-old Brennan vanished in June. Earlier in the year, the Bardsleys led a contingent of 42 American volunteers to Puca Cruz, Ecuador, to build a school in honor of their son: the Garrett Bardsley Memorial School. The school replaced a one-room school for 60 children.

The family continues to reach out to other families with lost children. For instance, the family's Web site asks people who are unable to participate in this weekend's search for Garrett to volunteer for future searches for other children.

Closure in Garrett's disappearance is long overdue for the Bardsley family. Please help in a search that, one hopes, will give the family a peace they richly deserve.