Roger John Ellison was 17 when he boarded the Cedaredge High School bus on the morning of February 10, 1981. He took an orange or yellow backpack and three dollars for lunch and was last seen around 8:30 a.m. placing his books in a locker. He never attended classes that day and did not return home.

All of Roger’s personal belongings remained — his car, motorcycle, skis and bank funds — and his family said he had no history of running away. Authorities came to suspect foul play and later focused on a person of interest, teacher and wrestling coach John Pash, who had reportedly told Roger’s mother soon after the disappearance that Roger had personal problems and might be suicidal, a claim family and friends rejected. A 1994 tip prompted a ground-penetrating radar scan under Pash’s former garage floor; anomalies were detected but no excavation was done. A 1998 deathbed claim said a young man matching Roger’s description was seen bound and shot in spring 1981.

The case remains cold and Roger’s parents died without answers.