PHOTOS: Laura Bradbury disappeared 26 years ago

Mike Bradbury goes for a walk with his two surviving children, Travis and Emily, on a trail near Upper Newport Bay. Emily was too young to remember the disappearance of and subsequent search for her sister Laura, but Travis is still haunted by the memory.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Twenty-six years later, Mike Bradbury holds his head as he looks through a box of toys belonging to his missing daughter Laura.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Mike Bradbury looks at one of Laura’s dolls. Over the years, he has not spoken much about Laura or what has happened since she disappeared 26 years ago.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Unbeknownst to the rest of her family, Patty Bradbury continued to write letters to Laura. Some were penned on holidays and others on Laura’s birthday. The letters were discovered by Mike Bradbury years later.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

One of Patty Bradbury’s letters to her missing daughter, written on Christmas morning 1985, contained these words: “I send this letter to you with love and prayer, my baby girl. There is a hole in our life now ... Laura I love you. Please don’t forget me ... Mommy.”  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Very little has changed at the Indian Cove Campground in Joshua Tree National Park since Laura went missing there in 1984. It’s still a popular destination.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Because Joshua Tree offered the Bradburys a refuge, they were regular visitors. Patty felt particularly at home there — the sunsets, the night stars far from city life.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The sun sets over the prehistoric-looking hills surrounding the Indian Cove Campground. The tragedy of Laura’s disappearance has clung to his family, like a storm that can’t be escaped.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

One of the last known photos of Laura Bradbury and her mother, Patty -- taken from Mike Bradbury’s computer screen -- shows the two on a family outing.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)