Missing: The Jaryd Atadero Story: A Father Turns Tragedy Into Hope After the 1999 Disappearance of His Son in the Colorado Moun

by Allyn Atadero, Arlyn Atadero

Easily entranced by the surrounding nature, one can easily become misdirected; such is the story of Jaryd Atadero, the three-year-old son of Allyn Atadero. A day celebrating the beauty of God's handiwork turns into a father's worst nightmare as the sun sets on his only son, lost in the Colorado Mountains. A highly publicized search breaks into a national story as reports surfaced concerning Jaryd's whereabouts. Did Jaryd fall prey to a territorial mountain lion? Was he a victim of the elements? Did someone take Jaryd off the mountain? Missing is the personal account of a father's painful search to discover the truth. Accompany author and father Allyn Atadero as he ascends the mountain with hope, wades through grief and sorrow, and, by faith, makes his final descent in The Jaryd Atadero Story.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2008

Reviews

[Kathy Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

MISSING: THE JARYD ATADERO STORY is a heart-wrenching account of the 1999 disappearance of a three-year-old boy during a hike at the Poudre River Resort in Colorado. Told with extraordinary passion by Jaryd’s father, Allyn Atadero, the story follows the boy’s disappearance, the subsequent search, and the years of frustrating uncertainty endured by the entire family. Very little is actually known about what happened to Jaryd that day. He went on the hike along with his older sister, Josallyn, and he was observed running up ahead of the other hikers. Later, two fisherman reported seeing a lone boy playing with a stick. Another man believes he saw Jaryd with an unidentified man about 500 miles from the resort where he disappeared. Many possible scenarios have been proposed as to what happened to Jaryd – did he freeze to death, or drown, or was he killed by wild animals, or could he have been kidnapped? – but nothing has been proven. Articles of Jaryd’s clothing were eventually found near the scene of his disappearance, but nothing definitive came from testing them. And so many aspects of the case continue to confound Allyn Atadero and his family.

What makes MISSING particularly fascinating is the perspective from which it’s told. Allyn Atadero is an anguished father with a clear vision of how the loss of his son has impacted his life. Nothing compares with losing one’s child, but the horrible way this case was mishandled –as well as the frustration Atadero encountered at virtually every turn – creates an even more devastating portrait of a nightmare few of us can fully comprehend. The local sheriff and police in Colorado did not call in the FBI, even though Jaryd went missing on federal land. They did not call in the National Guard because they thought it would be too expensive. They did not welcome help from volunteers, and Atadero’s family members (including his mother) were threatened with arrest for insisting on joining the search. One local police officer actually told Atadero that four dogs were better than twenty, an argument that makes no sense (especially when searching hundreds of miles of terrain). Additionally, the local authorities never took seriously the suggestion that Jaryd might have been kidnapped. The man who insisted he saw Jaryd in the company of an unidentified man hundreds of miles from the resort wasn’t even interviewed by the sheriff’s office or the police, even after Atadero pushed the issue.

The disappearance of Jaryd Atadero is a mystery without clear resolution. Was Jaryd killed by a mountain lion on the day he disappeared? And if he was, why was there no blood or other trace evidence found among his clothing? And why were his pants found inside-out? And why did the jacket and sneakers look in almost perfect condition after four years in the elements? These are things Atadero will never know, things that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

What amazed me most about MISSING was the very real spirit of optimism and faith revealed in Atadero’s writing. This is a man with a deep love of God who did his best on a daily basis to accept the things he was facing. The words of his daughter Josallyn reflect what was in his heart – in the end, it didn’t really matter whether Jaryd had been kidnapped or died in the wilderness. Either way, as Josallyn said, “Jaryd is either alive or he’s with God.” And both are causes for hope.

I recommend this book highly for readers interested in true-crime stories with heart and conviction. I admire Allyn Atadero for the courage with which he is living his life. It isn’t easy to accept that the answers we most want might never come. But Atadero knows he will see his son again, and in that faith is an inspirational story that is as uplifting as it is devastating. MISSING deserves to be read.

[Please note: I was provided a copy of this book for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very hard read for me. My heart goes out to Jaryd's family and all those affected by this tragedy. This book is very likely to bring tears.

[Stacey Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a heart breaking story of every parent's worst nightmare and Allyn Atadero conveys the torture of losing a child and the search that brought him almost no answers. It is a book everyone, especially parents, should read that reminds us to treasure every moment we have with our loved ones because our time with them could come to an end in an unexpected heartbeat and reminds us to never take our children for granted because they might not always be there.