Had Christopher Coan been 18 in 1967 instead of 2007 he may have experienced some of the things he read about in books by Ken Kesey such as "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest" and "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test". He may have been one of the Merry Pranksters or maybe just another one of us with dreams of heading to San Francisco and hanging out at Haight Ashbury mingling with the flower children during the "Summer of Love".
It's reported that Chris was fascinated with life in the 60's, the unrest in America at that time, and the Viet Nam War. Maybe he toked a few doobies along the way, but from what I've read he seemed to be a typical teen in 2007 in Cedar City, Utah, a skateboarder, not a rebellious hippie of the 60's prone to taking off and not telling anyone.On September 3, 2007, Chris left his job at Subway never to be heard from since. Accounts say that he had a difficult shift dealing with a rude customer, then being reprimanded by his boss for something minor, but nothing happened during that shift that was a big enough deal to just walk away from his life.
Chris belongs to a loving family who attended church together and had a girlfriend, Sasha, who lived with him in a small, separate space at her parent's home. Chris owned a 1994 burgundy and silver Chevy S10 Blazer which he had recently purchased, and which no one saw him getting into after work. His vehicle is also missing, no trace left behind, as well as his wallet, drivers license and ATM card. There has been no activity on his bank account.Searches have been conducted yielding nothing and reported sightings have been inconclusive. Authorities believe he is missing under "suspicious circumstances", but because of his being 18, could have left voluntarily although nothing in his demeanor would indicate that he just wanted to walk away from his life, his girlfriend, and his family.
An appeal from father, Dave Coan:
I appeal to everyone out there to help us find our son. We love Chris and miss him very much. His brothers and mother are very much affected by his disappearance as well. Not a minute goes by that we don't think about him. We are stuck in a kind of limbo. We cannot move forward with our lives not knowing where he is or if he is alright. The stress, most days, is almost unbearable.
My personal message to Chris: If you are out there, son, we love you and miss you very badly and please call and let us know you are ok.
UPDATE: CHRISTOPHER HAS BEEN FOUND
CEDAR CITY, Utah —
The body of a missing 18-year-old boy, Christopher Coan, was found by a hiker Thursday afternoon at a Canyon near Cedar City. Coan was last seen Sept. 3, 2007 after he left his job at Subway. The hiker, Rex Rushton, found the body at the foot of a 1,000 foot cliff in Right Hand Canyon, about 7 miles outside of Cedar City. Police said Coan's car fell off a treacherous road before landing at the foot of the cliff.Searchers looked in that same canyon when Chris went missing in 2007. His parents, volunteers and Cedar City police never gave up on the year long search for Coan. Police said the brush where Coan landed was in dense and tricky area, hard to spot from a distance.
