CO CO - Roger Ellison, 17, Cedaredge, 10 Feb 1981 #2

[doublestop]

Welcome, Leilaini. I'm so sorry about your cousin Roger. It is, to me, one of the strangest disappearances I've seen. If you can share anything from the family, feel free.

 

[Laelaini]

Welcome, Leilaini. I'm so sorry about your cousin Roger. It is, to me, one of the strangest disappearances I've seen. If you can share anything from the family, feel free.

Ill have to ask my mom and see if she remembers more. I dont think she has thought about it in years really. So much time has passed.

 

[Danaya]

Thank you for the post Laelaini. I have followed Roger's case for a long time. What did your family think about John Pash? I wonder if Roger took his own life. What do you think happened to him?

 

[AliceInPain]

One of the reasons I joined WS, "Hello Sleuthies!"
It's on the first pages of thread #1.
I don't know why his intro was removed because that was a perfect WS moment imo:
"Hello Sleuthies!
I use this term because it is obvious that you all lack the skill necessary to be a true sleuth. And what is that needed skill? The ability to reason, both deductively or inductively. What you all do is take a questionable rumor, factualize it so you can make it fit your needs, and then pat yourselves on the back thinking you have made a substantial advance in criminal investigations. It is rather obvious that you are a group of “wannabes”. So get out your yellow legal pad and pencil so we can begin the process. I found 2 other sites which I will include in this discussion- the Charley Project and Finding Roger Ellison. You may want to be wearing a trenchcoat and galooshes, and have your umbrella open, because it’s about to hit the fan."
imo jmo and it's also out there and linked previously.
I wonder if he's still around?

 

[Danaya]

One of the reasons I joined WS, "Hello Sleuthies!"
It's on the first pages of thread #1.
I don't know why his intro was removed because that was a perfect WS moment imo:
"Hello Sleuthies!
I use this term because it is obvious that you all lack the skill necessary to be a true sleuth. And what is that needed skill? The ability to reason, both deductively or inductively. What you all do is take a questionable rumor, factualize it so you can make it fit your needs, and then pat yourselves on the back thinking you have made a substantial advance in criminal investigations. It is rather obvious that you are a group of “wannabes”. So get out your yellow legal pad and pencil so we can begin the process. I found 2 other sites which I will include in this discussion- the Charley Project and Finding Roger Ellison. You may want to be wearing a trenchcoat and galooshes, and have your umbrella open, because it’s about to hit the fan."
imo jmo and it's also out there and linked previously.
I wonder if he's still around?

No he passed away a few years ago. I wonder if Robert shared with Pash that he was depressed and/or suicidal in that journal entry. Many seemingly happy people suffer in silence.

 

[AliceInPain]

No he passed away a few years ago. I wonder if Robert shared with Pash that he was depressed and/or suicidal in that journal entry. Many seemingly happy people suffer in silence.

Very true. It's been a while since I read about Roger, but 17 can be a difficult age for some. One foot in adulthood and the other clinging on to the safety of childhood. And if you don't know where you're going you can end up in a bad place. I don't think self-harm was ever one of my own theories though.
Wasn't there a UID later found in CO looking very much like Roger? And was ruled out, but I wonder now what ruled him out as we have since seen ID'd people who were on their own rule-out lists on NamUs...

 

[Laelaini]

Thank you for the post Laelaini. I have followed Roger's case for a long time. What did your family think about John Pash? I wonder if Roger took his own life. What do you think happened to him?

Never, that I ever remember hearing, was it even contemplated that suicide was possible. He was so excited about his next ski trip and college.

 

[Laelaini]

Thank you for the post Laelaini. I have followed Roger's case for a long time. What did your family think about John Pash? I wonder if Roger took his own life. What do you think happened to him?

As far as Mr Pash. I think there has always been unanswered questions there. However, I don't remember there ever being anything absolute there either. Which was part of the heartbreak.

 

[Danaya]

Thank you for answering, Laelaini. Roger certainly had a lot to look forward to. Do you know anything about the diary assignment Roger allegedly wrote, which was then handed over to police?

 

[Laelaini]

Thank you for answering, Laelaini. Roger certainly had a lot to look forward to. Do you know anything about the diary assignment Roger allegedly wrote, which was then handed over to police?

No. Unfortunately here is where i heard about that.

 

[Soundman]

Bumping for Roger

 

[theshadow45]

Roger has been missing for 44 years today.

 

[Savemecastiel]

Always thinking of you, Roger.

 

[ThePhantom]

I think this young man was buried beneath the house of one of his former teachers. I am so sorry that Roger's disappearance didn't receive immediate and thorough attention from local authorities. Rest in peace beautiful soul; you are not forgotten.

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Roger’s birthday.

 

[Soundman]

For review, this is a general timeline of events in Roger's case, (published back in February, 2009): Source- Inside A Reporter’s Notebook

Note: For easy reference, I bold printed dates as well as some information that I believe has never been answered. If anyone knows answers or can discuss the bold sections more, please elaborate! Thank you!

Cold Case Timeline​

February 10, 1981: Roger Ellison, 17, boarded a school bus bound for Cedaredge High School. He got off the bus and walked to his locker, No. 191 in the school’s basement, and put his books away while chatting with friends. He was never seen again. On the day he disappeared, Roger was reportedly seen talking to two unidentified men. Cedaredge is located in western Colorado at the foot of Grand Mesa National Forest on Highway 65.

An FBI report described Roger as a “straight arrow” despite his alleged marijuana use. The report goes on to describe an incident in 1979 where another school acquaintance “threatened to kill” Roger over his dating a certain girl. The incident was cast aside, saying “it was highly unlikely the threat was carried out after two years without some additional confrontation.”

July 1981: An $8,000 reward is offered by Roger’s parents, Ernest and Evelyn Ellison, to anyone with information that will help solve the case of their missing son. Ernest died a few months after Roger’s disappearance, apparently overcome with grief. Sources close to the family say Ernest spent his last six months waiting for the bright yellow school bus to bring back his son. Prior to her death, Roger’s mother Evelyn begged authorities to take a closer look at the possible link between Roger and John Pash, a Cedaredge High School social studies teacher and wrestling coach who has since relocated to California. She said Pash went to her home after her son’s disappearance and told the family that Roger was suicidal, something Pash had never mentioned before. Pash also allegedly counseled Roger at his home next door to the school.

After Roger’s disappearance in 1981, fliers were distributed by the thousands all over the country, with one eventually making its way to the Missing Children Help Center in Tampa, Florida. The activity sheet attached to the Ellison case file showed five unconfirmed sightings since 1985. Two of those reported sightings came on the same day.

April 7, 1994. That was the day Ellison was featured on the “Sally Jesse Raphael Show,” a nationally syndicated talk show broadcast to millions of people worldwide. Documents show both calls came from Grand Junction after two separate callers thought they recognized Roger from his picture on television. One went so far as to say “she thought it looked like a friend of her brother’s.” The information was passed on to Delta County investigators and Roger’s family. The lead didn’t pan out.

Roger was an honor student with a perfect attendance record. He was also a gifted athlete and a member of the Powderhorn Racing Club. He regularly participated in weekend ski meets hoping to attain “A” level racer status in the United States Ski Association which would open the door to more competitive regional ski races. At the time of his disappearance, Roger had posted the entry fee for a ski race in Aspen but failed to show up for the race. Records also show he had been accepted at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado and put a deposit down on a dorm room. He left behind a bank account with $1,000 in it, his skis, car and a motorcycle.

March 1994: A tip sparks an intensive underground search of the former Pash residence located next door to the old Cedaredge High School. An eyewitness told police he saw Pash digging in his yard. When questioned by the eyewitness, Pash reportedly said he was transplanting roses. The eyewitness thought that was a bit odd because it was the wrong time of year to be gardening. A NecroSearch team specializing in locating clandestine graves dug up several sections of the yard but found no human remains.

June 1998: A dying man hoping to clear his conscience tells investigators with the Delta County Sheriff’s Department that he knows what happened to Roger Ellison. According to the man’s account, he and a friend were poaching deer in a wooded area northwest of Cedaredge in early spring of 1981 when they came upon a young man whose hands were bound by white cord and being held at gunpoint by another man. One of the eyewitnesses, who picked Ellison out of a photo lineup, reported hearing two gunshots several minutes after the pair left the area. The two men made a pact to never talk about what they saw and erased it from their memories. The dying man passed a polygraph test. His friend also came forward and corroborated his story.

September 1998: A handful of investigators from various law enforcement agencies along with members of an anthropology class from Western State College in Gunnison searched the heavily wooded area northwest of Cedaredge for Ellison’s remains. The search turned up no new clues in the case.

2005: A team of cold case investigators reviewed the Roger Ellison case.

August 2008: A member of Websleuths, an online crime sleuthing community, makes a startling discovery prompting this post to the website:

CO-Roger Ellison 1981 VANISHED FROM HIGH SCHOOL UND POSSIBLE MATCH.

The poster, who goes by the screen name Intuition, stumbled upon a case on the Doe Network with striking similarities to Roger’s case. The Doe Network is a volunteer organization that assists law enforcement in solving cold cases. The website has a searchable database containing information on unexplained disappearances and unidentified victims. Case File 1107UMCO contains information on an unidentified white male whose skeletal remains were found in September of 1981 in Chaffee County, Colorado. The John Doe is estimated to be about 17 years old, approximately 5’6” tall and weighing 136 pounds. According to the case history, the victim was located on September 10, 1981 in a wooded area near Clear Creek in northern Chaffee County. More bones were found in 1986 in the same general area and a pathologist ruled they were probably from the same person. There were also three cartridge shell casings found near the second set of bones. Scraps of clothing found nearby consisted of a pair of blue jeans, a green corduroy shirt and a T-shirt. The photo on the left is a reconstruction of the unidentified John Doe; the photo on the right is Roger Ellison at age 17. Investigators are looking at a possible link between the two cases. A positive identification has not been made.




February 10, 2009: The case remains unsolved.

Although a lot of reports say he disappeared on February 10, it was actually February 9th. His parents had to wait 24 hours to file the report, thus the reports of February 10 being the day he disappeared.

 

[Soundman]

I believe Mr. Pash fabricated the "assignment" in advance to divert suspicion from himself. Roger is unable to defend himself, after all. Roger's parents did say he told them he had seen something very bad at or near the school grounds shortly before his disappearance. He also said he was going to get proof of something, the day he disappeared. Wonder if it was hard drugs or child ? To warrant his murder?

Phantom Fan where did you get this information from? Can you please supply your source? I’ve never seen or heard anything of Roger seeing something bad.

 

[Rhett]

Phantom Fan where did you get this information from? Can you please supply your source? I’ve never seen or heard anything of Roger seeing something bad.

I've never seen or heard this information either.

 

[Soundman]

Phantom Fan where did you get this information from? Can you please supply your source? I’ve never seen or heard anything of Roger seeing something bad.

PhantomFan not Phantom Fan.

 

[Danaya]

There has been some recent activity on Facebook, from people who knew Roger.

One woman said that she saw him in the library that morning, and he looked very worried. Like he had a lot on his mind.