GRAFTON - Some additional items have been found that make it even more likely that Heather L. Bardsley was swept away into a culvert/tunnel by rapid waters on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015, when she went missing.
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Jason Bardsley, Heather’s brother, has been searching with Grafton Police and others in Grafton for Heather and her belongings this week.
Grafton Police Chief Marshall Lewis said they have discovered a Zebra print boot, which matches Heather’s boots she had on the night she went missing. He said they also found her Coach brand wallet with her ID, driver's license, credit cards/ bank cards and one of her check stubs.
Although finding these items is a step in the investigation, it still does not tell the whole story.
“There are still ways people could have taken these things off her and thrown into the water, but for the most part, it seems like there was no foul play and this confirms this is where she went through that night (speaking of the Grafton culvert),” said Jason Bardsley.
Jason said the culvert underneath the Amoco gas station in Grafton has been cleared and they are currently on a new canal in front of that today.
“We are just now on way back up there and will build another dam and clear out more of the items in the canal,” Bardsley said on his way to Grafton today to search again.
“We still need to drench the other part of the 50-60-foot section from the bike trail to the river. There is probably a 30-foot culvert that separates the little canal to allow the bike trail to go across and splits out the other side 30-40 feet.”
Jason said until he finds his sister and she is examined, he will still have some doubt that someone could have placed her items in there and they washed down to where they found them.
“I want to find her one way or another,” he said.”We know she is gone now. We just want closure and want to put her body to rest. Everybody wants closure in these kinds of situations. We want her to be at peace and have a funeral where we can say our goodbyes.”
Jason said during his childhood, Heather was his best friend.
“After childhood, we went our own separate lives, but I still have all those good memories,” he said.
Each day not knowing exactly what happened to Heather is something Jason carries with him. He said he saw Heather frequently because he lives only two blocks from where she worked in Wood River as a waitress at King Louie’s Restaurant.
“Every time I would drive by there and she was working, I would honk at her,” Jason said.
He said they will continue searching until they come to some conclusion of what happened to his sister. This afternoon, Jason Bardsley and others are in Grafton continuing the search.
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