Jerri Dale Lesser, 24, vanished on May 31, 1980, while on a rafting trip on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs. He and a friend are believed to have been in a raft that overturned in turbulent water; the friend’s body was recovered but Lesser was not. Search and rescue teams looked for him, and the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office kept the investigation open, but no remains were ever found.

Lesser was described as a white male, brown hair, brown eyes, 5 feet 7 inches and about 142 pounds. He had a craniotomy scar from surgery at age seven. A photo taken the day he disappeared shows him with a mustache and goatee, wearing a dark beanie, a green long-sleeved button-up shirt with sleeves rolled up, and a large ring with a dark stone on his right hand. The case is classified as lost/injured missing, and the prevailing theory is that he drowned after the accident, though his absence leaves uncertainty for family.

If anyone was on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs that day or has information about Lesser’s movements before the rafting trip, please share what is known.