LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — A young boy who mysteriously disappeared more than two decades ago forever changed how Colorado reacts to missing children.
October 2, 1999, will forever be the worst day of Allyn Atadero's life.
“It's like it happened yesterday. It's etched into my mind," Allyn said.
That day — 25 years ago — is when his 3-year-old son Jaryd disappeared while hiking with a group of friends. Allyn was not on the hike and believed the group was heading to a fish hatchery. He had no idea the group decided to hike the Big South Trail in Larimer County instead.
"All I know is they lost track of him and he vanished, and we tried our hardest to find him," Allyn explained. “It happened so fast. It was on the trail, he went missing. And it's hard to believe that after that, I never saw him again.”
Allyn believed they would find Jaryd the night he was reported missing. He yelled for his son along the trail, but Jaryd did not appear.
Panic set in for Allyn, and search parties combed the area for the next week or so.
“He could still be an unsolved mystery. We don't know 100% what may have happened to him," Allyn said. “There are several theories, and I don't think about them anymore. I don't because now I know where he is — and in my heart, he's in Heaven.”
Justin Smith spent the better part of the week on Big South Trail. At the time, he was a sergeant with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office (LCSO). Smith would eventually become the Larimer County sheriff.
“This is one of those few cases in my 35-year career that you don't lose. And I try to kind of let these things set aside, but when you bring it back up, a lot of things really flood back in — the memories," Smith said. “There were a lot of reasons to lose hope. But at the same time, I was so moved by how many people came together on that and worked, you know, so hard to try to find Jaryd and bring him back.”
In June 2003, hikers located Jaryd's clothing. Not long after that, some remains of Jaryd were also found.
"The way they were found was consistent with... this is something that would have been an abduction by a cat. So there's just, there's nothing that indicated anything else over the years," Smith said, adding that he's confident a mountain lion is to blame for Jaryd's disappearance.
Smith said the county's Search and Rescue team is haunted by the ghost of this case.
“There was a big effort shortly afterward, through our Search and Rescue and our advocates to really push for that outdoor education," said Smith.
That outdoor education included teaching children to carry whistles with them, wear bright clothing and stay in one spot if they are lost on a trail. Allyn also pushed to ensure families were prepared for how to safely navigate the outdoors with children.
“Make sure when you go up, you come home. Make sure you travel with somebody. Make sure you have a whistle. Make sure you tell people where you're going. That way if something happens, they're not out there looking in the wrong spot," said Allyn.
Not only did Allyn advocate for safe outdoor recreation, he also worked to bring what we now know as an AMBER Alert to Colorado.
The concept of an AMBER Alert originated in Dallas, Texas, when 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted. Her body was found only four miles away, and her murder remains unsolved.
The idea was presented by a concerned citizen to broadcast missing children alerts in the way media covers severe weather warnings. The Dallas AMBER Plan began in 1997 and is now a national program.
In 2002, Colorado signed into law the AMBER Alert Plan Program.
“They tried to push it through in Colorado, and we became part of that. We sat with Governor Owens at the time to sign the bill into law," Atadero said. “When they actually signed the bill into law, it was on my birthday."
Allyn no longer searches for answers surrounding his son's disappearance. Instead, he's waiting for the day when he is reunited with Jaryd.
“Jaryd did not vanish for no reason at all. He vanished to help others," said Allyn. "And at a young age, if he managed to help others, God bless the little guy.”
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