OCT 2, 2024
A young boy who mysteriously disappeared more than two decades ago forever changed how Colorado reacts to missing children.
www.denver7.com
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.
Despite being the most prevalent and argued non-abduction theory of Jaryd’s disappearance, the much-debated mountain lion attack scenario has the most evidence against it. During the initial search week, trackers had come across mountain lion prints near the area Jaryd was last seen. These tracks intersected with what one experienced tracker thought was the track of a small child. There was a dispute between the trackers as to whether or not the sign was actually made by a child or were that of a bear, which can sometimes resemble a human footprint.
Yet regardless of the type of tracks, three individuals from the Division of Wildlife concluded that the mountain lion tracks were older than the smaller prints, which were likely those of a bear. The tracker who discovered them, “Seaux”, later told Allyn he was certain the cat never saw Jaryd. DOW personnel agreed, and could not find any evidence of an attack anywhere or any evidence to support the theory. (LCSO Supplemental Field Incident Report 99-06-59.S02, Pg. 5.)
In Allyn’s book
Missing: When the Son Sets, he includes a number of emails he received in reply to inquiries made to mountain lion specialists after the clothing and remains were recovered in June of 2003. Their replies are telling:
“
First, as a father of 3, I offer my deepest empathy for your loss. You are suffering every parent’s worst nightmare. I find it most unlikely that a mountain lion could turn pants completely inside out. I won’t say “impossible” but I would say “99% unlikely.” Inside out with no trace of blood would be about as close to impossible as I can imagine.”
—
Steve
March 14, 2015
(Atadero, Allyn; Atadero, Arlyn. Missing: When the Son Sets: The Jaryd Atadero Story (p. 342). UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.)
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Hi Allyn,
These are the only clues provided to me: no mountain lion hairs on his clothing no trace of blood pants turned completely inside-out absence of any stains that might have come from either blood or decomposition fluids
Based on these clues, I do not believe that a mountain lion killed and ate your son. A forensic specialist might be able to advise whether all traces of blood or decomposition could have disappeared in 4 years, but it strikes me as unlikely. I would expect a mountain lion to tear clothing in the process of removing it. I do not believe that a mountain lion could turn pants inside out. It also seems most unlikely that a mountain lion would eat the sweatshirt but remove the other clothes. I am sorry for your loss.
—
Steve March 16, 2015
(Atadero, Allyn; Atadero, Arlyn. Missing: When the Son Sets: The Jaryd Atadero Story (p. 342-343). UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.)
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Dear Mr. Atadero—I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your son. However, based on the information you provided it doesn’t sound like he was a victim of a mountain lion attack. First, when mountain lions attack they usually ambush their prey, jumping on its back and biting the neck. A sign of such an attack would have been quite apparent on the clothing that was found. Second, mountain lions do not “skin” their prey (or shed their clothing.) A shirt would have been torn and bloodied in the area of the chest cavity if a lion was involved. I hope this information helps you in your search.
—
Tim Dunbar Executive Director Mountain Lion Foundation
(Atadero, Allyn; Atadero, Arlyn. Missing: When the Son Sets: The Jaryd Atadero Story (p. 343). UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.)
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Hi Mr. Atadero—Sorry about the delay in getting back to you—I’ve been out of the office for the past few days. I and my biologist looked at the photos and could discover no signs of a mountain lion attack. At the very least I would have expected to see evidence of blood on the back and shoulders of the jacket. As I indicated in my previous email I am sorry for your loss, but do not believe that the evidence points to an animal attack.
Tim Dunbar Executive Director Mountain Lion Foundation
March 18, 2015
(Atadero, Allyn; Atadero, Arlyn. Missing: When the Son Sets: The Jaryd Atadero Story (p. 344). UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.)
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Dear Mr. Atadero, First of all, on behalf of all of us at the Cougar Network, please accept our deepest sympathies regarding the loss of your son. We are so incredibly sorry to hear of your loss and of course will help however we can in your time of grieving. Based on the information you provided it doesn’t sound to me like a mountain lion killed your son. However, please keep in mind I am not a forensic scientist and I have only your brief description to go by. But given the circumstances, the fact that his clothes were found (and not ripped to shreds), and that his body was never recovered sounds like something else may have happened. Have you spoken with cougar biologists in Colorado? They most certainly could answer your questions, as they would have local knowledge of the cougar population there, and their behaviors. In the interest of your sensitivities, I will spare you the details of a cougar kill (usually deer). However, if you would like me to describe a typical kill for comparison (or even provide pictures so you can see what I’m talking about), please let me know. I hope that this has been helpful for you and please let me know if there is anything further with which I can assist you.
Michelle LaRue, PhD Executive Director Cougar Network
March 17th, 2015
(Atadero, Allyn; Atadero, Arlyn. Missing: When the Son Sets: The Jaryd Atadero Story (pp. 344-345). UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.)
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Allyn,
First of all, I am very sorry to hear about your son Jaryd. Please know I am praying for you for a peace and answers to your whole ordeal. And please, feel free to ask me anything if it helps. Thank you for taking the time to write me and share your story. Very humbling... Let me start off by saying I am in no way an expert in forensics, nor any of the sort. I do know a little about mountain lions as you can tell by my own personal attack story at: www.lionkingministries.com. Only by the Grace of God was I able to get away and down that mountain that day. I know this without question as the peace I felt when I saw the face of Jesus during my screams and run down the mountain. Per your ordeal, one question I would have is no blood on anything. It would be incredibly rare that the mountain lion wouldn’t puncture something on your son’s body. Thus, giving way to some sort of blood drip. I know my shirt, shoes, socks, shorts, and hiking pack all had blood as well as the path itself. In fact, the searched path (3 flattened locations under different trees deeper in the mountains) by hounds found small blood spots. Of course I was about 135 lbs at the time and fought back as hard as I could.
Have investigators done any blood samples on the clothing? Or even hair samples? Your story reminds me a little of: News from California, across the nation and world - Los Angeles Times news/mn-14282. Now is it possible that your son’s fear overwhelmed him and he passed out. Thus, no fight and the animal was able to easily remove the clothing? Possibly. Having no blood would be my big question. Hopefully, they were able to test the clothing even four years later. Hopefully, the weather did not destroy any evidence. Not sure if any of this helps at all? I can only pray someday you find peace with all this. I know your son is walking hand in hand with Jesus now and that, my friend, is the most peaceful, most loving place any of us can be.
Praying for you...God Bless Allyn.
—
Andy Peterson
(Atadero, Allyn; Atadero, Arlyn. Missing: When the Son Sets: The Jaryd Atadero Story (pp. 346-348). UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.)
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The most damning piece of evidence that came out of the investigation is the report filed by the NecroSearch recovery team:
“The failure to locate any other remains leaves several questions open, most notably the location of the primary scavenging and decomposition site. Locality 1 seems the best candidate given the presence of the clothing. However, the reported absence of any stains that might have come from either blood or decomposition fluids indicates that they were removed from, or by, the victim prior to the time that any significant bleeding or decomposition took place. Consequently, the clothing cannot be unequivocally assumed to mark the spot of the primary scavenging or decomposition of the remains...However, the reported absence of any stains that might have come from either blood or decomposition fluids indicates that they were removed from, or by, the victim prior to the time that any significant bleeding or decomposition took place.
“Further, no evidence was recovered that would provide grounds for rejecting the view that predation by a large carnivore, possibly a mountain lion is the most plausible explanation of the death of the individual whose remains were recovered in the search reported here. If the remains are demonstrated to be those of Jaryd Atadero, it seems that he was taken by a large carvivore [sic], most likely a mountain lion, in his last foray away from the group with which he was hiking. The activities of other hikers on the trial and the searching subsequent to the discovery of Jaryd’s disappearance would have encouraged the animal to move away from the kill site, which must have been fairly close to the Big South trail, to a more secure location.” (Atadero, Allyn; Atadero, Arlyn.
Missing: When the Son Sets: The Jaryd Atadero Story (pp. 340-341). UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.)
No blood, no decomposition fluids, not a single trace of DNA on the clothing. Hairs found on the clothing were discovered to be non-human and non-mountain lion..."
[Sources:
Jaryd Atadero: Full Disclosure Part One, thunderstreetministry.com/jaryd-atadero-2/;
Missing: When the Son Sets by Allyn and Arlyn Atadero; Larimer County Sheriff's Report.]
