Everett Ruess's body has been found after 75 years! This is probably old news to most of you who read your news on the Internet, but I thought I'd mention it because his life story was very intriguing to me; I just wanted to find out more about him. I think my interest was piqued by a PBS presentation but its been so long ago, I can't even remember which books I read. If you want to find out about Everett, we have a video called "Lost Forever: Everett Ruess" and a book "Sandstone Sunsets: in search of Everett Ruess". Other books you might want to interlibrary loan or purchase are "On Desert Trails with Everett Ruess" or "Everett Ruess: a vagabond for beauty"
Everett was one of those young, restless guys that didn't mind being out in the wilderness on his own, he revelled in the solitude. He set out alone several times to experience the beauty of the American West during the 1930's. As he wandered he wrote poetry and made block prints of the scenery. His work also included drawings and watercolors, but his wood block prints have become the most well known.
In November 1934, at the age of twenty, Everett disappeared near Escalante, Utah and was never seen again. Because Everett's letters home sometimes foresaw his death or disappearance, it was almost as if he were making plans for it. At one point he wrote "I shall go on one last wilderness trip, to a place I have known and loved. I shall not return", and "When I go, I leave no trace." Several entries in his journal could have indicated that he planned his disappearance. These are the things that made his actual disappearance so much more intense - did he disappear because he wanted to, or did something happen to him. And now we know...
If you want to know about the identification of Ruess's body: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430144708.htm
To read more about him: http://www.angelfire.com/sk/syukhtun/everett.html
Susan
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