August 15, 1958, Bobby Bizup, age 10, was fishing down by Cabin Creek, while attending summer camp at St. Malo Retreat; a camp organized by the Catholic Church. At approximately 6pm, a camp counselor approached Bobby and informed him it was time for dinner. The two of them walked down the hill, back toward the camp, the counselor noting Bobby was just behind him. Yet, when he reached the camp and turned back again, Bobby was gone.
St. Malo Retreat, also known as Chapel on the Rock, was built in 1936 on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Malo. The concept of the chapel on the rock was founded by Monsignor Joseph Bosetti in 1916, when he came across a large rock formation just east of the Rocky Mountain National Park. He was inspired by the Biblical phrase, “upon this rock I will build my church,” and the church was donated to the Archdiocese of Denver.
At that time, the facility was used as a boys’ camp, led by priests and seminarians. Bobby Bizup, the only son of Master Sergeant Joseph Bizup, attended that camp. Bobby was mostly deaf, and didn’t speak clearly, so he mostly kept to himself. But he loved fishing.
The search for Bobby extended across 4 days, with an estimated 300 people searching over 16 square miles. The search included airmen from Denver’s Lowry Air Force Base, where Bobby’s father was stationed. Bloodhounds searched the woods, and Skin Divers searched the heavier ponds. The search extended up Mount Meeker, to approximately 11,000 ft, and 4 miles in each direction. There was no sign of him, only his bait box, about a mile from the creek where he was last seen by his counselor.
The camp director made a statement, claiming he was sure Bobby was just hiding. A vacationing physician claimed to have seen Bobby walking the streets in Estes Park, 15 miles north of St. Malo’s. Clerks in an Estes Park hardware store also reported seeing a young boy resembling Bobby, even tried asking him questions, but he failed to respond, pointing to his mouth and ears, and quickly left when approached. It wasn’t until almost a year later, on June 6, 1959, that he was finally found.
Three camp counselors from St. Malo’s, including one who helped lead the original search for Bobby, came across part of his hearing aid, scraps of clothing and some bones, all later confirmed to being Bobby’s.
His remains were found in a ravine’s heavy underbrush just below timberline on Mount Meeker. The ravine and area surrounding it had all been part of the original search. The question, however, is how did Bobby get there and why wasn’t he found during the original search.
Bobby Bizup disappeared while heading downhill to dinner, behind his counselor, yet was found almost a year later 3-3.5 miles away from camp, and 2,500 ft up Mount Meeker. People claimed to have seen him in Estes Park, 15 miles south of St. Malo, but how would he have gotten there? While a 10 year old boy can be resourceful, this boy was hard of hearing, and didn’t speak much.
He was hungry and headed toward food, yet disappeared within a short while of having been seen. And, in just a few months, what happened to his body? Even if eaten by wildlife in the Rocky Mountains, there should have been more of him left behind.
On Friday, August 13, 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the St. Malo Retreat Center. He was helicoptered in and spent two hours alone on the trail that Bobby Bizup was last seen on.
If the case of Bobby Bizup has you scratching your head, take a look at The Boy in the Box.
He probably didn’t keep up with the counselor and since he couldn’t hear/speak, lost his way, especially if it was late. That might account for him ending up elsewhere where others had seen him. That’s one explanation. But it’s hard to understand why a counselor who bothered to go retrieve him in the first place, would just walk ahead to the point of losing him on the path. The counselor might have been very young himself. Sort of just came by to tell him, hey it’s time for chow and then left him to gather his stuff and then went on ahead without him.
Entirely possible. What I don’t understand is how he could be spotted in Estes Park. But then, that may not have even been him.
They were here long before us! What an ignorant thing to say. They are beautiful creatures.
I think it was murder
My brother and I were there. Those camp counselors and administration were mostly creeps. It was more like a Catholic gulag.
I live just miles away, and looking at it at night is certainly creepy. One day I’ll take a walk around the grounds, imagine what it would have been like for that poor boy.
I am not surprised by your belief that the counselors and administration were creeps. Unfortunately you often find such things, just after something horrible has happened.
Bishop of that camp accused of abusing 3 brothers that same year at that camp.
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2007/01_02/2007_02_18_Asay_SinsOf.htm
It would seem that more and more often we hear about the corrupt, and often disgusting behavior that goes on in places where children are supposed to be kept safe. What horrible news.
What about forensic testing on the remains? Did that ever happen?
Unfortunately in 1959 Forensics, as we know them today, were in their infancy. In fact, the ability to determine blood type was only perfected in 1958. So no, there was no testing done on his remains – at least none that have been made public.
I thought of the last counselor.But having watched the Missing 411 which is a documentary about 4 intotal kids that went missing in this mountain,im not so sure anymore its anyone that knows the victim.Documentary states a 3 like bobby had some kid of disability.
It certainly is one of those cases that stays with you. Missing 411 is fantastic.
Who was the last counseler to see him
That I could not say for certain without digging up old police records, which are not always made public. That would certainly be good to know – I suspect someone had to have been lying.
Modus operandi for a mountain lion. Found in the underbrush where I have often seen
ML tracks and Up high where the cougar carried his body–maybe still alive. Bad creatures.
They should ONLY be in zoos nowadays.
Thanks a lot for the post.Really thank you! Much obliged.
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Im not implying anything just wanted to know
What was the name of the last counseler to see him. I’m not implying anything just wondering.