Name: Glen Rollin Hyde
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: November 15, 1928
Location Last Seen: Arizona
Date of Birth: December 9, 1898
Age: 29 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Not Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Not Available
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Glen was raised in Hansen, Idaho and attended the University Of Idaho. He was employed as a farmer in the area and was also an avid outdoors man. Glen traveled to California in February 1927 and met Bessie Helmick , aboard a passenger ship from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Bessie and Glen began a romantic relationship afterward and wanted to marry, but Bessie was still legally wed to her first husband. Earl Helmick refused to agree to a divorce, so Bessie moved to Elko, Nevada to meet residency requirements for a decree in that state. Their divorce was finalized on April 11, 1928; Bessie and Glen wed in Twin Falls, Idaho on April 12.
Glen and Bessie took a honeymoon rafting trip down the Green River and Colorado River during the fall of 1928. Glen was an experienced rafter, while Bessie was somewhat of a novice. They boarded a handmade flat-bottomed wooden sweep scow, a craft commonly used for Idaho river rafting at the time. Glen refused to carry life preservers or jackets on board, also keeping with the general rafting customs of the day. The couple arrived at the home of Emory Kolb, a photographer who maintained a small riding business on the rim of the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona, on November 15. The Hydes said that they had been rafting for the previous 26 days and were pausing to restock their supplies. They asked Kolb to take a photo of them posing by the canyon's rim; they planned to retrieve the picture on their return trip a short time afterward. Kolb believed that Bessie appeared apprehensive about the remainder of the journey. Kolb attempted to tell Glen that he needed some form of lifesaving equipment on board, but Glen disregarded the warning.
Glen and Bessie departed Kolb's property after restocking their raft near Bright Angel Trail. The couple has never been heard from again. Glen's father assisted with the search effort when the Hydes failed to return to Idaho by early December 1928. A small plane located their abandoned raft in the river in mid-December. The craft was upright and fully stocked with supplies, but there was no sign of Glen or Bessie. Water was also discovered on board the boat, but authorities were not certain if it was part of the Hydes' supply or simply overflow from the rapids. An extensive search of the area produced no clues as to Glen and Bessie's whereabouts. Investigators determined that the couple was presumed to have died in some type of accident in the river. Glen's father believed that they had difficulties with their craft and attempted to hike out of the Grand Canyon, but became lost and died in the woods. No evidence has been located to support that theory. Liz Cutler a woman who traveled down the Grand Canyon on a rafting excursion in 1971, claimed she was actually Bessie. Cutler claimed that she stabbed Glen after a disagreement in 1928, then walked out of the woods and began a new life for herself. Cutler recanted her story sometime afterward.
The unidentified skeleton of a man was discovered in the area in 1976 and rumors abounded that Glen's body had been recovered. The victim apparently died as the result of a bullet wound to the head. Laboratory tests conducted in 1985 concluded that the remains were not Glen's. Another woman and man have claimed to be Bessie and Glen in the years following the skeleton's discovery. None of the stories have been verified. Bessie's brother said that Helmick had a violent temper and mentioned that some people believed he was involved in Bessie and Glen's disappearances. No evidence has been located to support the theory. A witness on the river at the time the Hydes vanished said that he saw a brown leather jacket floating in the water. It is not known if the garment was connected to the Hydes' cases or if the claim is even true. Bessie and Glen's disappearances are no longer being investigated by law enforcement, but fascination with their cases continues. Brad Dimock wrote a book detailing the disappearances in 2001, entitled Sunk Without A Sound.
Agency Name: N/A
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: N/A
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: N/A
NamUs Case Number: Unknown
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
Wikipedia
Ghosts of the Prairie
The Idaho Statesman
Added: 3/1/2015; Last Updated: 05-18-2022 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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