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SPRINGVILLE -- Standing in a crowd of hundreds, Springville resident Kelley Gilson had tears in her eyes.
"I just know what it feels like," said Gilson, "that feeling of the unknown, the fear for the safety and well being of your child."
Gilson says her child was missing for just a few hours before being found safely. She can't imagine if her child was missing for a whole week.
It would be heart wrenching. That's why I'm here, because if I was his parent and in this situation, I would hope my neighbors would help me.
–Kelley Gilson
"It would be heart wrenching," said Gilson. "That's why I'm here, because if I was his parent and in this situation, I would hope my neighbors would help me."
Gilson was one of hundreds of volunteers who helped looked for 12-year-old Chad Stilson Saturday morning. The Springville boy was last seen on Saturday, Jan. 22.
He was grounded after getting into some trouble at school, but got out of his house through his bedroom window at about midnight and disappeared.
"This is just out of character for him," said Vicki McGarry, Stilson's mother.
"We felt like we were all close, so we can't imagine why he would want to be gone this long," said Dennis Stilson, Chad's father. "It just doesn't seem like him. That's why we are all so concerned."
The two were helping volunteers look at maps and other diagrams of their Springville neighborhood. The search was organized by the Garrett Bardsley Foundation, which was created by Kevin Bardsley.
Bardsley's son Garrett disappeared during a camping trip in the Uinta Mountains in 2004. Ever since, Kevin Bardsley says he'll do whatever he can to help parents when their child is missing.
"We go door to door and make sure everybody knows that they know that they're looking for him, that they see his face and know what he looks like," said Bardsley. "We want them to look everywhere they can think of and around their own property."
"It's the worst thing I've ever gone through. He's our only child. You always hear about things like this, and you think "oh, that poor person.' Then you go through it. It happens to you and then you really feel it." -Dennis Stilson
Volunteers going door to door asked residents if they had any sheds or garages where someone could hide. If so, the volunteers asked for permission to look in them -- hoping to find any signs of Stilson.
"Someone is holding him against his will or he's somewhere where somebody is giving him bad advice," said Dennis Stilson. "Or he's hurt and can't get to us."
A few Springville residents have called police to report possible sightings of Stilson near Utah Lake and heading up Hobble Creek Canyon. At this point though, those sightings have not been confirmed, and Springville police say they don't think any foul play is involved.
Stilson is described as 5 feet, 2 inches with brown hair and blue eyes weighing roughly 100 pounds.
"It's the worst thing I've ever gone through," said Dennis Stilson. "He's our only child. You always hear about things like this, and you think "oh, that poor person.' Then you go through it. It happens to you and then you really feel it."
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
