Key facts
- Name: Garrett Alexander Bardsley
- Born: July 24, 1992, Utah
- Age at disappearance: 12
- Last seen: August 20, 2004, ~8:00 a.m.
- Location: Cuberant Lake, Uinta Mountains, Summit County, Utah
- Height / build: 5’0″, 105 lbs, light brown shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes; gap between upper front teeth
- Status: Still missing — intensive search found almost nothing
- Case number: 04L12342
- Investigating agency: Summit County Sheriff’s Office
One hundred and fifty yards
On the morning of August 20, 2004, twelve-year-old Garrett Bardsley was fishing with his father, Kevin, at the edge of an unnamed lake in the Cuberant Lakes Basin — 10,426 feet up in Utah’s Uinta Mountains. They were there with a Boy Scout group on a backpacking trip. Garrett was the youngest of four, a student at Spanish Fork Middle School.
He got his shoes and socks wet. Around 8:00 a.m., in clear visibility, he started back toward the family campsite — about 150 yards, 150 paces — to change into dry socks and shoes. He wore a black hooded Quicksilver sweatshirt, red Nike sweatpants, a white t-shirt, and white Converse tennis shoes. He carried a short, black, chrome ice-fishing pole.
His father watched him for part of the walk, then glanced back at the lake. When he looked up again, Garrett was gone.
Fifteen minutes later, Kevin was at the campsite. Garrett wasn’t there. He never arrived. In 150 yards, on a clear morning, in open country with minimal undergrowth, a twelve-year-old boy vanished without a sound.
The search
What followed was one of the largest wilderness searches in Utah’s history. Over 1,400 volunteers participated over several days — more than 200 on the first night alone — alongside search-and-rescue personnel from Summit, Cache, Salt Lake, Wasatch, and Duchesne counties, combing the basin on foot, on horseback, and with dogs, into the night and for days after. Helicopters and aerial support joined. The campsite sat less than a quarter-mile from the lake on a well-established path; trip organizers had chosen the spot precisely because it was sheltered, with identifiable landmarks, seemingly difficult to get lost in.
They found one thing: a single Nike sock, about half a mile away in a rugged granite boulder field. According to Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds, it appeared to have been taken off a wet foot and wadded up — consistent with Garrett changing his socks. It was hopeful. It led nowhere — and a searcher later claimed the sock as his own, so it was never confirmed to be Garrett’s.
The weather turned cruel. That night the temperature plummeted to around 18 degrees. After five days, the mission shifted from rescue to recovery. In 2006, a hunter found a shoe near Cuberant Lake that looked like Garrett’s — it was too large. In 2009, America’s Most Wanted received a tip from a woman who said she’d seen Garrett with two unidentified men in a grocery store. It was never substantiated.
His mother, Deborah Bardsley, has held onto the last moment she saw him: “I know he knew that I loved him. The last time I saw him, he gave me a big hug. That’s what keeps me going through this. I can still feel him squeeze me.”
A family friend, Wally Trotter, said of the lake: “We don’t care what the rest of everybody calls it. In our mind that is Garrett’s Lake and that will always be Garrett’s Lake.”
Theories: what might have happened
Lost to the elements. The prevailing theory: Garrett wandered off the short path — the AMW account says his father saw him start down the wrong path and called out — became disoriented in the boulder fields and cliffs, and succumbed to exposure when temperatures crashed to 18°F that night. Supports it: the single sock, the brutal cold, the treacherous terrain of steep inclines, rivers, and cliffs. Undercuts it: the vanishing happened in 150 yards of open ground in clear daylight, and an intensive search found essentially nothing.
Animal attack. Raised early and largely set aside: no blood, no torn clothing, no sign of a struggle was ever found.
Abduction. The basin is remote — reachable only by trail — which makes a stranger abduction logistically difficult. Police determined there was insufficient proof of kidnapping. The 2009 grocery-store tip was never substantiated. It remains the theory of last resort.
Have information?
Contact the Summit County Sheriff’s Office at 1-435-615-3600 (case 04L12342), or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- July 24, 1992 — Garrett Alexander Bardsley is born in Utah.
- August 2004 — Joins his father Kevin and a Boy Scout group on a backpacking trip to the Uinta Mountains.
- August 20, 2004, ~8:00 a.m. — Leaves the lakeshore to walk 150 yards to camp for dry socks; vanishes.
- August 20–25, 2004 — Massive multi-county search; a single sock is found; mission shifts to recovery.
- 2006 — A hunter finds a shoe near the lake; ruled out (too large).
- 2009 — America’s Most Wanted airs an unsubstantiated grocery-store sighting tip.
- Today — Still missing; Cuberant Lake remains “Garrett’s Lake” to his family.
FAQ
Is Garrett Bardsley still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Garrett Bardsley has been missing for more than 22 years.
Was Garrett Bardsley ever found?
No. Despite one of Utah’s largest wilderness searches, no trace of Garrett — beyond a single sock — has ever been found.
What was found during the search for Garrett Bardsley?
One Nike sock, about half a mile from where he disappeared in a boulder field, consistent with having been taken off a wet foot. Nothing else.
How old would Garrett Bardsley be today?
Garrett was born July 24, 1992 — he turned 34 in July 2026.
How far was Garrett Bardsley from camp when he vanished?
About 150 yards — “no more than 150 paces,” in a family friend’s words — on a clear morning with minimal undergrowth.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Anyone with information should contact the Summit County Sheriff’s Office at 1-435-615-3600.
Corrections (October 2026 verification pass)
- Search scale: “more than 200 volunteers” → over 1,400 volunteers over several days (more than 200 on the first night alone). Per the Deseret News via Wikipedia; the 200 figure describes the first night only.
- Sock caveat added. A searcher later claimed the found sock as his own; it was never confirmed to be Garrett’s (KSL, Aug 2004; Wikipedia).
- Lake spelling “Cuberant” retained — matches Wikipedia’s “Disappearance of Garrett Bardsley” (Cuberant Lake / Cuberant Lakes Basin).
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Summit County Sheriff’s Office (case 04L12342); NCMEC.
- News: Daily Herald (Utah County); The Salt Lake Tribune; The Daily Spectrum.
- Reference: Wikipedia, “Disappearance of Garrett Bardsley” (retrieved Oct 2026); The Charley Project; StrangeOutdoors.com.
- Media: America’s Most Wanted (web-exclusive case, 2009); The Missing Enigma.
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.