Bardsley was last seen at approximately 8:00 a.m. on August 20, 2004, at Cuberant Lake in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. He was fishing with his father; they were on a wilderness trip with Bardsley's Boy Scout troop. Bardsley's feet got wet so he left to go back to their campsite, about 150 yards away, and change his shoes. He never arrived at the campsite and has never been heard from again. Bardsley was not carrying a backpack or any food on his person when he disappeared.

An extensive search turned up few clues as to Bardsley's whereabouts. A Nike ankle sock was found in a field of boulders half a mile from where Bardsley was last seen. Bardsley's mother identified the sock as belonging to her son, but one of the searchers also identified it as his own.

The area where Bardsley disappeared has very rough terrain. The day he vanished, the temperature was near freezing and it rained and hailed. Bardsley has passed wilderness training courses offered by the park council. Police say there is no evidence that he was abducted; they believe he became lost on the way back to the campsite and died of exposure.