An unforgettable honeymoon: The mysterious disappearance of Glen and Bessie Hyde in the Grand Canyon

One of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the legendary Grand Canyon is the mysterious disappearance of Glen and Bessie Hyde. This newlywed couple with a great thirst for adventure disappeared in 1928 on their honeymoon while attempting to conquer the treacherous rapids of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Had they succeeded in this challenge, Bessie Hyde would have gone down in history as the first woman to conquer the river through the Grand Canyon. Until then, only 45 men had managed to traverse the entire length of the Grand Canyon by boat. But who were this adventurous couple who were so determined to spend their honeymoon on a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon? Glen Rollin Hyde was born on December 9, 1898, in Spokane, Washington. After a brief stay in Canada, his family moved to Twin Falls, Idaho. He attended the University of Idaho in Moscow during the 1920s, but settled down as a farmer. He had already discovered his passion for water sports during his time in Canada. In 1919, he went on a six-month expedition on the Peace River with his friend Jess Nebeker. In 1922, Glen met experienced boatman Harry “Cap” Guleke, who taught him everything about building gabarres, flat wooden boats with two rudders at the stern and bow. After meeting Guleke, Glen wanted to build a boat like this, which he could use to travel from the Salmon River to the Pacific Ocean. He fulfilled this dream in 1926 when he and his sister Jeanne traveled down the Snake and Salmon Rivers to their mouths on the Pacific Ocean. Bessie Louise Haley, born on December 29, 1905, came from Parkersburg in the state of West Virginia. After graduating from high school, she moved to California and enrolled at the California School of Fine Art in San Francisco, where she wrote an unpublished book of poetry entitled “Wandering Leaves.” She married her childhood sweetheart, Earl Helmick, on May 5, 1926. Her marriage was turbulent, and in February 1927, Bessie decided to travel by passenger ship to Los Angeles, where she met Glen. It was love at first sight for both of them. However, Bessie’s husband refused to agree to a divorce, so Bessie moved to Elko, Nevada. In that state, divorces were possible without the consent of the spouse. Just one day after Bessie’s official divorce, the two were married on April 12, 1928, in Twin Falls. In October of that same year, the couple embarked on an adventurous honeymoon that took them from the Green River in Utah to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Glen, who already had experience with river travel, built a 2-ton, 7-meter-long barge called “Rain-in-the-Face” in two days and for $50. Their goal was to break the existing speed record and at the same time make Bessie a pioneer in the history books. The couple hoped this would lead to lucrative book deals, contract trips, and a great deal of fame. The Hydes began their journey on October 20, 1928, with plenty of supplies, magazines, and mattresses, but without life jackets. At first, everything went according to plan, and they made good progress. While Bessie documented the trip in her diary, Glen eagerly took photos of their journey with his camera. On November 14, they made their first major stop at river mile 90 at Bright Angel Camp, where they dined at the posh Hotel El Tovar in the evening. To get from the boat to the hotel, they had to hike from Bright Angel Trail to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Not only was the route 15 kilometers long, but they also had to climb 1,335 feet in elevation. They used the next day not only to visit the famous photographer Emery Kolb, who took a photo of the couple, but also to buy provisions, which they transported to their boat with the help of mules. At the turn of the century, the popular photographer Emery Kolb and his brother Ellsworth had leased a piece of land at the upper end of the trail, where they photographed tourists, which turned out to be a real gold mine at the time. At the camp, Bessie and Glen also happened to meet a reporter from the Denver Post, who was so taken with their adventure that he wrote an article about them. This story was published by the Associated Press, which sold it to newspapers nationwide. Interest in Glen and Bessie’s adventurous honeymoon was enormous. At that time, they also met Adolph G. Sutro, a good friend of the photographer, who accompanied them part of the way in his boat to Hermit Creek, where he disembarked. He was the last person to see them alive as they ventured down the river below Hermit Rapid. When the Hydes did not arrive in Needles, California, as planned on December 6, 1928, Glen’s father, Rollin Hyde, launched a search party. He hired Native American trackers to search the edge of the Grand Canyon and asked Secretary of War Dwight Davis to authorize an aerial search, which he did. On December 19, military aircraft discovered the Hydes’ stuck barge at mile 237 of the river. It was intact and loaded with all their supplies, but abandoned by its occupants. Glen’s father immediately set out for the site with the Kolb brothers. They did not reach the boat until Christmas morning. Traces on the riverbank indicated that the Hydes had made it to mile 226 before disappearing. A diary entry by Bessie described passing mile 231, suggesting that they may have had an accident near mile 232. Historians suspect that their boat fell victim to submerged rocks, which is not uncommon in these rapids. The deaths of the two remain unexplained to this day, and their story has become shrouded in numerous myths and legends over the years. A woman on a rafting trip in 1971 claimed to be the real Bessie Hyde and said she had killed her husband and fled the canyon. Georgie Clark, a well-known river guide, also became the subject of speculation after her death in 1992, as documents and a gun were found that could have linked her to Bessie Hyde. However, none of these claims could be confirmed. The story took another interesting turn in 1976 when human remains were found on Emery Kolb’s property. After thorough investigation, it turned out that they did not belong to Glen Hyde. The deceased was much younger and had died years after the Hydes disappeared. A realistic reconstruction of the possible course of events was provided by author and experienced river guide Brad Dimock. He rebuilt the Hydes’ gabarre and repeated their journey. In doing so, Dimock experienced firsthand the extreme challenges the couple must have faced. His experiments and detailed knowledge of the river convinced him that the Hydes probably had an accident at river mile 232 – known today as Killer Fang Falls. Dimock’s theory points to the extreme difficulty of steering the heavy gabarre in the dangerous rapids. The strong current, unpredictable waves, and protruding rocks could easily have led to a fatal accident. If the Hydes fell into the water, they would not have been able to stay afloat for long in the icy current. The hypothesis seems plausible, even though no bodies were found. Today, the landscape of the Grand Canyon remains as impressive as it was then, and rafting tours continue to enjoy great popularity, even though modern safety measures and better equipment have reduced the dangers. But the story of Glen and Bessie Hyde remains a captivating mystery that continues to intrigue and fascinate people.