Dave Cawley

One night, a dusting of snow covered the nearby peaks. Hope of finding Garrett alive faded.

One night, a dusting of snow covered the nearby peaks. Hope of finding Garrett alive faded.

Still, the search went on to locate Garrett's body. All the searchers found was a single sock in a boulder field about a mile from where Garrett was last seen.

Still, the search went on to locate Garrett's body. All the searchers found was a single sock in a boulder field about a mile from where Garrett was last seen.

The search ended after 10 days of intense effort. At the conclusion, the sheriff offered this advice to anyone who might visit the Uinta Mountains.

The search ended after 10 days of intense effort. At the conclusion, the sheriff offered this advice to anyone who might visit the Uinta Mountains.

Garrett Bardsley's remains have to this day never been found. His disappearance left a deep impression on me as a young journalist. I'd camped and hiked in the Uintas as a boy myself. I couldn't comprehend how he could just vanish. In the years that followed, I covered stories about other missing people in the Uintas. Some were found alive.

Garrett Bardsley's remains have to this day never been found. His disappearance left a deep impression on me as a young journalist. I'd camped and hiked in the Uintas as a boy myself. I couldn't comprehend how he could just vanish. In the years that followed, I covered stories about other missing people in the Uintas. Some were found alive.

Okay, let's go back to that question Art Lang asked me during our interview.

Okay, let's go back to that question Art Lang asked me during our interview.

I've tried to pin down the precise number of people who have gone missing in the Uinta Mountains and to determine how many were never found. But that's proved difficult. There are a bunch of jurisdictional boundaries, with different agencies responsible for searches in different parts of the range. Not every disappearance gets reported. Record-keeping gets worse the farther back in time you go.

I've tried to pin down the precise number of people who have gone missing in the Uinta Mountains and to determine how many were never found. But that's proved difficult. There are a bunch of jurisdictional boundaries, with different agencies responsible for searches in different parts of the range. Not every disappearance gets reported. Record-keeping gets worse the farther back in time you go.

And, as I discovered, some missing people are simply forgotten. During my research, I stumbled across the story of a missing man named Lynn Simmons. Lynn was working on a government survey crew in the summer of 1940. The crew was measuring and mapping a square of federal land in the Hyuintas. Lynn had taken this tough job to support his wife Rita and their eight-month-old son.

And, as I discovered, some missing people are simply forgotten. During my research, I stumbled across the story of a missing man named Lynn Simmons. Lynn was working on a government survey crew in the summer of 1940. The crew was measuring and mapping a square of federal land in the Hyuintas. Lynn had taken this tough job to support his wife Rita and their eight-month-old son.

He wrote Rita letters, like this one, read by a voice actor.

He wrote Rita letters, like this one, read by a voice actor.

Lin wrote about cold mornings where shrouds of vapor hung over the meanders of the Bear River. He talked about a sheepherder who was camped nearby.

Lin wrote about cold mornings where shrouds of vapor hung over the meanders of the Bear River. He talked about a sheepherder who was camped nearby.

The sheepherder claimed it was a grizzly, but that wasn't possible. Grizzly bears were by that point exterminated from their native habitat in these mountains. There were still black bears in the Uintas, though.

The sheepherder claimed it was a grizzly, but that wasn't possible. Grizzly bears were by that point exterminated from their native habitat in these mountains. There were still black bears in the Uintas, though.