From staff and wire reports | Posted: Friday, June 27, 2008 12:00 am
PINEDALE - Searchers using scent dogs, all-terrain vehicles and a helicopter were scouring the remote Big Sandy area of Sublette County Thursday for 24-year-old Garrett Bardin.
Bardin is the son of Sublette County Sheriff Wayne Bardin. The younger Bardin was last seen Saturday driving a silver Lincoln pickup.
The pickup was found at the end of a two-track road about three to four miles west of the Big Sandy Ranch area, and at least five miles away from the Rainbow Family gathering, an official said Thursday.
Bardin's Lincoln Mark LT truck was not parked near established parking areas for the Rainbow Gathering of Living Light, said Randall Hanson, public information officer with the Sublette County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators have no reason to believe Bardin's disappearance has any connection to the Rainbow gathering, Hanson said. Officials have searched the counterculture campout several times without finding the man.
The truck was discovered Tuesday by a volunteer search team working in conjunction with the sheriff's office, but Bardin has yet to be found, Hanson said.
There were no other cars parked within four or five miles of Bardin's truck, Hanson said.
The Rainbow camp is about five miles northeast of the rugged track where the pickup was found, he said.
Hanson said it has rained a couple of times since the pickup was found, which might be hampering the search dogs' abilities to find a scent.
Officials are asking anyone who has any information about the whereabouts of Bardin, or who might have seen him, to call 307-367-4894 or 307-367-4378.
Bardin is 5-foot-11 with brown hair and hazel eyes, and he weighs 175 pounds.
* Last we knew: A search was under way for the son of Sublette County's sheriff after his pickup was found in the Big Sandy area.
* The latest: Investigators have no reason to believe the man's disappearance has any connection to the nearby Rainbow Family gathering, an official said.
* What's next: The search continues with dogs, four-wheelers and a helicopter.]]->