remains in the
Everett Reuss mystery, now more pertinent than ever since the discovery of his remains on Comb Ridge, south of the Colorado River. Here are links to a
good summary article about his disappearance and the
news of his recent discovery.
The big question is
where and
how did he cross the Colorado River during his last trek southeast of Escalante, Utah? Based on archeological finds he most likely followed the
Mormon trail to Hole-in-the-Rock which provided access to the river for both him and his two burros. However, most everyone dismissed that he would have been able to cross the river given the typically high water.
This morning I inspected the stream gaging records maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey for
Lees Ferry (with accurate measurements dating back to 1924.) It turns out that 1934, the year that Everett went missing, the Colorado River experienced
the lowest flows on record prior to the modern era of dam construction. So he very likely was able to easily swim across the river during an episode of unusually low water.
Isn't it cool how history and science collide?
Hat tip to LS, for revisiting this story with me
over cocktails last week.
