Everett Ruess was 20 when he disappeared on November 20, 1934, while exploring the rugged country near Escalante, Utah. A young artist and poet who had been wandering the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, he traveled alone and supported himself in part by trading or selling artwork. Two sheepherders were the last known people to see him; they gave him directions toward the Kaiparowits Plateau, a remote area of canyons and desert.

Ruess’s burros were found soon after his disappearance, tethered in Davis Gulch, along with some personal items, but no further trace of him turned up. Extensive searches by local authorities and volunteers failed to locate him, and later efforts including DNA testing on human remains recovered decades afterward produced no conclusive identification. Explanations proposed over the years include accidental death, killing by local cattle rustlers, or that he deliberately vanished into the wild.

Does anyone have family knowledge, letters, or firsthand information about Everett’s travels in southern Utah that could shed light on what happened?