CO CO - Christopher William Vigil, 9, Poudre Park,30 Apr 1978

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Moonwalker9

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Christopher William Vigil – The Charley Project
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

No thread for him. Strange. Here it comes

Christopher William Vigil
  • christopher_william_vigil_1.jpg
  • christopher_william_vigil_2.jpg
  • christopher_william_vigil_3.jpg
Christopher, circa 1978; Age-progression to age 44 (circa 2012)

  • Missing Since04/30/1978
  • Missing FromPoudre Park, Colorado
  • ClassificationEndangered Missing
  • Date of Birth08/24/1968 (50)
  • Age9 years old
  • Height and Weight4'8, 74 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA dark green knit shirt, green plaid pants, white socks, blue sneakers and a maroon or purple denim jacket.
  • Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian male. Brown hair, green eyes. Christopher's nickname is Chris.
Details of Disappearance
Christopher was last seen hiking with his mother and younger brother on Grey Rock Mountain Trail in the Poudre Canyon in Poudre Park, Colorado, off Highway 14, on April 30, 1978. He hiked ahead of his family, apparently lost the trail, and disappeared. His mother reported him missing at 5:30 p.m., three hours after she last saw him.

There were several other hikers on the trail that day, both alone and in small groups. Three of them, a man named Allen Shoupan and two women, came forward and gave statements to the police, but most of the hikers have never been identified.

The two women who came forward were hiking together and they saw Christopher. They also saw a man sitting on some rocks. They described the man as dark-haired and -complected, wearing a straw cowboy type hat, with a camera hanging from his neck. This man has never been identified; he was not Shoupan.

The two women sat down to have lunch not far from the dark-haired man. During their meal they heard two voices, one of which was a young boy's; they assumed the boy was Christopher. They couldn't make out what was being said, but the boy started yelling and one of the women felt something was wrong. She wanted to investigate, but was too afraid to do so.

After a short time, the yelling stopped. The two women finished eating and went back down the trial. They passed the spot where the dark-haired man was sitting, but he was gone. They did find a Diet Pepsi can lying on the ground there, however. One of the women picked it up, put it in her backpack, and later threw it in the trash.

Christopher was carrying a can of Diet Pepsi, his favorite drink, when he disappeared. Littering was uncharacteristic of his behavior. Shoupan could not have been the other voice the two women heard, as investigators determined Christopher and Shoupan were never near each other in that location. Shoupan does not recall seeing the dark-haired man, and he himself is blond and didn't look like him.

The night of Christopher's disappearance was very cold, with wind, rain turning to sleet, and then snow. The overnight temperatures dropped below freezing and the child would not have survived without shelter. Christopher had never been hiking on the Grey Rock trail before and was unfamiliar with the terrain.

He has never been heard from again and an extensive search, involving 170 foot searchers, 30 searchers on horses, three helicopters and some tracking dogs, turned up no sign of him.

There were some possible sightings of Christopher in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah in the months following the child's disappearances. The witnesses who think they saw Christopher described him as "scared," "confused," and "dirty." In two separate states, the boy resembling Christopher was selling newspapers and claimed if he sold enough, he would get a trip to Disneyland. None of the sightings have been verified.

At the time of his disappearance, Christopher lived with his family in Laporte, Colorado. He was a student at Cache la Poudre Elementary School and had been on the honor roll for years. He was popular at school, but preferred reading to spending time with friends or playing outside. He attended the Meadowlark Church of Christ in Fort Collins, Colorado. He enjoyed swimming, roller skating, bike riding and running; he ran at the school track for two miles every night.

A childhood friend of Christopher's created a blog and Facebook page about the case. His friend believes he was abducted, probably by the dark-haired man. His disappearance remains unsolved.
 
There is a thread for him here: CO - Christopher William Vigil (9) - Poudre Park CO, 1978

Very sad case. There is a plaque for Christopher at the entrance to the trail. The newspaper archives don't mention any of what was reported above. However, there is a website by someone who claims to be a school friend of Christopher's and who says he was allowed to view the police files. The above is his report of what he says is in the police files but can't be found anywhere else. I am not sure it should be reproduced unquestioningly, especially as the same person alleges that Chris' parents are suspects in his disappearance because the mother didn't report him missing till 3 hours after she last saw him on the trail.

It's a two hour hike from where he was last seen to the entrance to the trail. Reporting Christopher missing earlier would have been physically impossible for the mother. Suspecting the parents is not victim-friendly.

Likewise, how would an abductor get Christopher off the mountain when they needed to hike for two hours to get out?
 

Christopher William Vigil​

Case Details​

Case Type: Missing
Height: 4' 8"
Case Status: OPEN
Weight: 74 lbs
Aliases: Chris
Identifying Marks: Tall for his age.
Incident Date: 04/30/1978
Occupation:
Agency: Larimer County Sheriff's Office
City: Fort Collins
Date of Birth: 08/24/1968
County: Larimer
Date of Death: Unknown
Agency Case #: 78-2739
Age: 10
Judicial District: 8th Judicial District
Gender: Male
Year Solved:
Race: Caucasian
NamUs Case #: 12919
Eyes: Green
NCMEC Case #: 1183718
Hair: Brown

About this Case:​

10 year old Christopher Vigil disappeared while hiking about midway on Grey Rock mountain trail off Highway 14 in the Poudre Canyon. He was wearing a purple denim jacket. Christopher's photo is shown age-progressed to 44 years old. He has not been seen since. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to please contact the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
1656326852804.jpeg1656326869782.jpeg1656326886768.jpeg
 

Interesting! But no update from this FB post 1/20/23

<<I may have some new information on Chris. It is currently under investigation and I can not talk about it at this time. I'm getting the chills right now writing about it. If this pans out. Good chance Chris will be coming home v>>
 

Interesting! But no update from this FB post 1/20/23

<<I may have some new information on Chris. It is currently under investigation and I can not talk about it at this time. I'm getting the chills right now writing about it. If this pans out. Good chance Chris will be coming home v>>
What happened with this?
 
This is one case where I think a mountain lion may have attacked. They're more common than people think, this was a time where more people were encroaching on their territory, and the age and size of Christopher would have made him more vulnerable to an attack. Mountain lions have attacked people in Rocky Mountain National Park, Idaho Springs, and the Flatirons in Boulder so this is not out of the realm of possibility.
 

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