Overview

Date last seen: September 12, 1980
Last-seen area: Riverton/Fremont County, Wyoming
Age: 11
Mother: Virginia Lynne Uden, 32
Brother: Reagan Cordell Uden, 10
Convicted killer: Gerald Uden, Richard and Reagan’s adoptive father
Weapon described in confession: .22-caliber rifle
Homicide area described by Gerald: Near an irrigation canal/rural crossroads in the Pavillion area of Fremont County
Reported disposal location: Gerald said the bodies were ultimately placed in Fremont Lake, although his later accounts were inconsistent
Remains recovered: No publicly confirmed recovery
NamUs: MP3971
NCMEC: 601928
Doe Network: 58DMWY

Richard Loren Uden’s case is therefore both a solved homicide prosecution and an unresolved missing-person recovery case. More than four decades after Richard disappeared, his family still does not have his remains to bring home.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Richard Loren Uden: The 1980 Wyoming Disappearance, Triple Murder Confession, and Search for His Remains

Richard Loren Uden was only 11 years old when he disappeared with his mother, Virginia Lynne Uden, and his younger brother, Reagan Cordell Uden, in Fremont County, Wyoming, on September 12, 1980. More than three decades later, Richard’s adoptive father, Gerald Uden, pleaded guilty to murdering all three.

The criminal case ultimately produced a confession and three murder convictions, but it did not answer one of the family’s most enduring questions: Where are Richard, Reagan, and Virginia?

Their remains have never been recovered. Richard consequently remains listed in missing-person records, including NamUs #MP3971.

Richard Loren Uden’s Disappearance

Richard was born November 22, 1968. At the time he disappeared, he was 11 years old, approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and 90 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He wore eyeglasses to correct strabismus and had surgical scars on his neck and nose as well as a scar on his forehead.

On September 12, 1980, Richard was with his 32-year-old mother, Virginia, and his 10-year-old brother, Reagan. The family was last seen leaving Virginia’s mother’s residence in Riverton at approximately 1:30 p.m.

They were traveling in a station wagon and were supposed to meet Virginia’s former husband and the boys’ adoptive father, Gerald Uden. Richard and Reagan were expecting to go hunting.

They never returned.

The Abandoned Station Wagon

Nearly a month later, on October 4, 1980, the family’s station wagon was discovered abandoned and vandalized near Dickson Park Road and Trout Creek Canyon in the Wind River Canyon area of Fremont County.

The discovery strengthened suspicions that Virginia and her sons had not voluntarily disappeared.

But no bodies were found, and the mystery continued for decades.

A Cold Case That Lasted More Than 30 Years

Wyoming investigators continued examining the disappearance long after the initial investigation failed to locate Richard, Reagan, or Virginia.

The case eventually became intertwined with another decades-old Wyoming mystery: the disappearance of Ronald Holtz, the former husband of Gerald Uden’s later wife, Alice Uden.

Investigators recovered Holtz’s remains from an abandoned Wyoming mine in 2013. The investigation surrounding Alice Uden ultimately helped bring authorities back to Gerald Uden and the unresolved disappearance of Virginia and the boys.

In September 2013, investigators confronted Gerald at his home in Missouri.

After more than three decades, Gerald confessed.

Gerald Uden Confesses to Killing Richard, Reagan, and Virginia

Gerald Uden eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.

According to Gerald’s sworn account summarized by the Wyoming Supreme Court, he met Virginia, Richard, and Reagan at an agreed location in Fremont County on September 12, 1980. The group traveled to an area near an irrigation canal.

Virginia had brought a .22-caliber rifle, and the boys wanted to shoot it.

Gerald said he tested the rifle and then turned the weapon on the family.

He admitted shooting Virginia in the back of the head. He then shot Richard behind the ear while the 11-year-old was near the rear of the vehicle. Reagan attempted to flee, fell into a ditch, and was also shot.

Gerald acknowledged in court that the murders were planned rather than an impulsive act.

He received life sentences for the three murders.

What Happened to Richard Uden’s Body?

Solving the murders did not solve the mystery of the victims’ location.

Gerald provided investigators with accounts of disposing of Virginia, Richard, and Reagan’s bodies. His courtroom testimony included placing the bodies in an abandoned mine and later returning for them.

According to records summarizing his account, Gerald said he retrieved the bodies on November 5, 1980, placed them in drums and deposited the containers in Fremont Lake near Pinedale, Wyoming.

Fremont Lake presents an enormous recovery challenge. It is exceptionally deep, and searches have failed to locate the remains.

Gerald’s later statements also complicated the search. Reporting on his subsequent legal challenges notes that he gave differing accounts concerning where the bodies were disposed of, including Fremont Lake and, at one point, the Pacific Ocean.

Without physical remains, investigators cannot independently verify every part of his disposal account.

Searches for Richard, Reagan, and Virginia

Investigators did not rely solely on Gerald’s confession.

Years before his arrest, investigators pursued theories about where the family might have been buried or otherwise concealed. A 2008 search involving investigators and University of Wyoming archaeology students examined property near Pavillion but did not recover the Uden family.

After Gerald’s confession, attention increasingly turned toward Fremont Lake.

Authorities conducted searches connected to Gerald’s claim that the bodies had ultimately been placed there. Records indicate that the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Wyoming Attorney General’s Office and Sublette County Sheriff’s Office were involved in recovery efforts beginning in 2014.

No publicly confirmed recovery of Richard, Reagan, or Virginia has followed.

Gerald Uden Later Tried to Undo His Confession

The case took another unusual turn when Gerald began attempting to challenge his convictions and distance himself from his confession.

He claimed that his confession was false and that he had admitted to the murders because he wanted to prevent authorities from accusing Alice Uden of killing Virginia and the boys.

Wyoming courts rejected his efforts.

In 2023, the Wyoming Supreme Court dismissed another attempt by Gerald to withdraw his guilty pleas. A Fremont County judge had characterized his arguments as meritless, and the state Supreme Court concluded there was no legal mechanism allowing the extraordinarily late challenge under the circumstances presented.

Importantly, Gerald’s later denial does not erase his earlier sworn guilty pleas and detailed courtroom account of the killings.

Latest Publicly Available Investigation Information

The most important unresolved part of Richard Loren Uden’s case is now the recovery of the victims’ remains rather than the identity of the convicted killer.

Current missing-person material continues to list Richard as missing under NamUs #3971/MP3971, with his September 12, 1980 disappearance from Riverton, Wyoming. A Wyoming missing-person compilation published in 2026 continues to identify his status as pending in NamUs and states that the bodies of Richard, Reagan, and Virginia were never recovered.

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation also continues to maintain a statewide cold-case program and asks anyone with information concerning unresolved Wyoming cases to contact the agency of jurisdiction or submit information to DCI.

No credible public announcement located through August 2026 reports that Richard’s remains have been recovered.

That distinction matters: the murders resulted in a confession, guilty pleas, and life sentences, but the recovery portion of the case remains unresolved.

Brief Case Summary

Date last seen: September 12, 1980
Last-seen area: Riverton/Fremont County, Wyoming
Age: 11
Mother: Virginia Lynne Uden, 32
Brother: Reagan Cordell Uden, 10
Convicted killer: Gerald Uden, Richard and Reagan’s adoptive father
Weapon described in confession: .22-caliber rifle
Homicide area described by Gerald: Near an irrigation canal/rural crossroads in the Pavillion area of Fremont County
Reported disposal location: Gerald said the bodies were ultimately placed in Fremont Lake, although his later accounts were inconsistent
Remains recovered: No publicly confirmed recovery
NamUs: MP3971
NCMEC: 601928
Doe Network: 58DMWY

Richard Loren Uden’s case is therefore both a solved homicide prosecution and an unresolved missing-person recovery case. More than four decades after Richard disappeared, his family still does not have his remains to bring home.