GLEN AND BESSIE HYDE
Name: Glen and Bessie Hyde
Glen and Bessie Hyde were newlyweds who disappeared while attempting to run the
rapids of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon, Arizona in 1928. Had they
succeeded, Bessie would have been the first woman in history to do so.
Glen Hyde, born 1898 was a farmer from Twin Falls, Idaho; Bessie was a
divorcee originally from Parkersburg, West Virginia. They met in 1927 on a
passenger ship traveling to Los Angeles, California, and married April 12, 1928,
the day after Bessie's divorce from her first husband was finalized.
Glen Hyde had some experience with river rafting, having traveled the Salmon and
Snake Rivers in Idaho with "Cap" Guleke, an experienced river runner, in 1926.
Bessie was more of a novice. In 1928, Hyde built his own boat, a twenty foot
wooden sweep scow, the type used by river runners of that time in Idaho. The
couple set off down the canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers in October 1928,
as a honeymoon adventure trip. Glen wanted to set a new speed record for
traveling through the Grand Canyon, while also putting Bessie in the record
books as first woman to run the canyon.
They were last seen in November 1928, when they hiked Bright Angel Trail out of
the canyon to resupply. They approached photographer Emery Kolb at his studio
and home on the canyon rim, where they were photographed before returning down
into the canyon. Some historians note that Adolph G. Sutro traveled back into
the canyon with the Hydes, taking photographs and even riding a short distance
with them in the scow. Sutro was the last person to see them,
on November 18, 1928, as they launched back into the river at approximately
river mile 95.
A search was launched when the Hydes did not return to Idaho by December. In mid-December,
a search plane spotted their scow adrift around river mile 237; it was upright
and fully intact, with the supplies still strapped in. A camera recovered from
the boat revealed the final photo to have been taken near river mile 165,
probably on or about November 27. There is some evidence to indicate the Hydes
made it as far as river mile 225, where it is believed they made camp. No other
trace of the Hydes has ever been found. It is thought to be most likely that
they fell or were swept out of the boat in heavy rapids near river mile 232.
The romance of the story coupled with the lack of any conclusive evidence as to
the fate of the Hydes, has led to a number of legends and rumors. An elderly
woman on a commercial Grand Canyon rafting trip in 1971 announced to other
rafters that she was Bessie Hyde, and that she had stabbed her abusive husband
to death and escaped the canyon on her own. The woman later recanted this story.
There was some speculation after the death of famed rafter Georgie Clark in May
1992 that she was really Bessie Hyde, due to some documents and a pistol found
in her effects, but no conclusive evidence for such a link was ever found, not
to mention that Clark and Bessie do not look alike in photos.
Skeletal remains found on the canyon rim in 1976 with a bullet inside the skull
were later proven not to be those of Glen Hyde. Suspicion had turned to
photographer Emery Kolb, the last person to see the couple, because the remains
were discovered on his property. However, a later forensic investigation
conducted by the University of Arizona concluded that the skeleton belonged to a
man no older than 22 and who had died no earlier than 1972, ruling out the
possibility that it was the remains of Glen Hyde.
Name: Glen and Bessie Hyde
Glen and Bessie Hyde were newlyweds who disappeared while attempting to run the
rapids of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon, Arizona in 1928. Had they
succeeded, Bessie would have been the first woman in history to do so.
Glen Hyde, born 1898 was a farmer from Twin Falls, Idaho; Bessie was a
divorcee originally from Parkersburg, West Virginia. They met in 1927 on a
passenger ship traveling to Los Angeles, California, and married April 12, 1928,
the day after Bessie's divorce from her first husband was finalized.
Glen Hyde had some experience with river rafting, having traveled the Salmon and
Snake Rivers in Idaho with "Cap" Guleke, an experienced river runner, in 1926.
Bessie was more of a novice. In 1928, Hyde built his own boat, a twenty foot
wooden sweep scow, the type used by river runners of that time in Idaho. The
couple set off down the canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers in October 1928,
as a honeymoon adventure trip. Glen wanted to set a new speed record for
traveling through the Grand Canyon, while also putting Bessie in the record
books as first woman to run the canyon.
They were last seen in November 1928, when they hiked Bright Angel Trail out of
the canyon to resupply. They approached photographer Emery Kolb at his studio
and home on the canyon rim, where they were photographed before returning down
into the canyon. Some historians note that Adolph G. Sutro traveled back into
the canyon with the Hydes, taking photographs and even riding a short distance
with them in the scow. Sutro was the last person to see them,
on November 18, 1928, as they launched back into the river at approximately
river mile 95.
A search was launched when the Hydes did not return to Idaho by December. In mid-December,
a search plane spotted their scow adrift around river mile 237; it was upright
and fully intact, with the supplies still strapped in. A camera recovered from
the boat revealed the final photo to have been taken near river mile 165,
probably on or about November 27. There is some evidence to indicate the Hydes
made it as far as river mile 225, where it is believed they made camp. No other
trace of the Hydes has ever been found. It is thought to be most likely that
they fell or were swept out of the boat in heavy rapids near river mile 232.
The romance of the story coupled with the lack of any conclusive evidence as to
the fate of the Hydes, has led to a number of legends and rumors. An elderly
woman on a commercial Grand Canyon rafting trip in 1971 announced to other
rafters that she was Bessie Hyde, and that she had stabbed her abusive husband
to death and escaped the canyon on her own. The woman later recanted this story.
There was some speculation after the death of famed rafter Georgie Clark in May
1992 that she was really Bessie Hyde, due to some documents and a pistol found
in her effects, but no conclusive evidence for such a link was ever found, not
to mention that Clark and Bessie do not look alike in photos.
Skeletal remains found on the canyon rim in 1976 with a bullet inside the skull
were later proven not to be those of Glen Hyde. Suspicion had turned to
photographer Emery Kolb, the last person to see the couple, because the remains
were discovered on his property. However, a later forensic investigation
conducted by the University of Arizona concluded that the skeleton belonged to a
man no older than 22 and who had died no earlier than 1972, ruling out the
possibility that it was the remains of Glen Hyde.