Bardsleys announce an end to organized searches for son

The family of a 12-year-old boy who disappeared last year on a church camping trip in the High Uintas announced that all organized searches for him are over.

The last search wrapped up Saturday, and the family of Garrett Bardsley believes he is dead. They said Thursday that they prefer to move on by cherishing the memories of Garrett and by focusing on the foundation that was established in his name.

"Hopefully, a camper or a hiker will come upon him," family friend Andrea Ivie said.

The public is encouraged to visit www.findgarrett.org, the Web site of the Garrett Bardsley Foundation, where they can download maps of the area near Cuberant Lake, where he was last seen Aug. 20, 2004. He had been fishing, and his father told him to change out of wet clothing. Garrett headed back to the campsite but was never seen again.

Although the large organized searches are over, people can privately search for the boy. People also can make donations on the Web site and purchase wristbands.

The foundation has two missions: service, which has started with the Garrett Bardsley School in Ecuador, and rescue efforts.

The goal with the rescue part of the foundation is to organize and dispatch volunteers anywhere in the world to search for missing persons.

"They keep track if you have GPS, horses, rock-climbing abilities," Ivie said. "It's important that people register on the Web site, so if someone goes missing, we'll know what resources we'll have at the time."