Eben Bartholomew Memorial

Hi, I am Eben Bartholomew's dad. I would to tell you a story that is very difficult for me. We lost my son, Eben Bartholomew on August 30, 2021. The world lost a kind, caring, loving, engaging, and hilarious person and great adventurer. Eben dedicated his life to pursuing extreme adventures and sharing it with others. He incorporated his love for life into a profession. He trained and mentored young people in extreme sports (skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, trampoline, skateboard, parkour, and rock climbing). He excelled in both group and individual training, intuitively determining the needs of each student and designing/executing a plan for the student to excel. An important aspect of the training included focus on life lessons. He applied this skill to challenged individuals with an emphasis on advancing life skills to assist for their life challenges. He was a true professional at this.

 

When Eben turned up missing on an adventure trip with many friends the weekend of August 28th , the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Baca county sheriff mounted a multi-day search and rescue mission. This included: all manpower available and ATVs for land coverage in difficult terrain ; aerial drones (and personnel to operate) and helicopter for broad land coverage; and underwater sonar/drone and search experts, including divers. The search took place in 100+ degree weather and difficult water conditions. It took 3 days to find and identify Eben in the water. Meanwhile, the massive land search continued. All sheriffs continued searching after their regular day ended and on days off with no pay. Including overnight duty to secure the surveillance area. Some sheriffs were totally volunteer. The ATVs were personal vehicles (many borrowed from friends/relatives). Amazing dedication. They provided food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), drinks, sunscreen, bug spray and other necessary to all volunteers. They coordinated their efforts with the Bartholomew family. What an incredible team of people.

 

Equally as amazing, were all the great friends (50+!!!) of Ebens' that made their way to the search site after hearing on the situation. They persevered the difficult search and camping conditions to search Eben. These kids are amazing and my family thanks and loves each of them.

 

As a memorial to Eben, I hope to generate enough funding to donate to the following (I am in the process of identifying the appropriate places/organizations):

1) Baca County sheriffs or sheriff resource fund.

2) Division of Wildlife Search and Rescue.
3) Permanent memorial at Two Buttes Reservoir (site where Eben was lost).

4) A youth sports organization for challenged individuals.

 

Depending on the donation amounts, I may be able to donate to all identified organizations. If donations are limited, I will make sure sufficient donations are distributed to each organization in the order cited above.

 

Thank you,

 

Randy Bartholomew