Name: Everett Ruess
Nickname/Alias: Nemo
Case Classification: Lost/Injured Missing
Missing Since: November 20, 1934
Location Last Seen: Escalante, Garfield County, Utah
Date of Birth: March 28, 1914
Age: 20 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 150-200 lbs.
Hair Color: Light Brown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Speaks Navajo in addition to English
Dentals: Available; gold fillings
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Unknown, wears a size 9 shoe
Jewelry: He may have been wearing a Navajo bracelet with three turquoise stones
Additional Personal Items: His bedroll, food, journal, paintings, cooking kit, and money were missing
On November 20, 1934, Everett Ruess set out alone into the Utah desert, taking two donkeys as pack animals. He was never seen again. Earlier in 1934, Ruess had told his parents he would be unreachable for nearly two months, but about three months after his last correspondence, they started receiving their son’s uncalled-for mail. They wrote a letter to the post office of Escalante, Utah, on February 7, 1935. A commissioner of Garfield County saw the letter and decided to form a search party with other men in the area. Ruess’ donkeys were found near the north side of Davis Gulch, a canyon of the Escalante River. The only sign of Ruess himself was a corral he had made at his campsite in Davis Gulch, as well as an inscription the search party found nearby, with the words “NEMO Nov 1934”. The commissioner reported the discovery of the donkeys and the inscription to Ruess’ parents in a letter dated March 8, 1935.
On March 15, after completing a last attempt to find Ruess in the Kaiparowits Plateau, Allen wrote a final note to the family calling an end to the search efforts. Later searches in late May and June 1935 included an aerial survey of the land from an altitude of 12,000 feet, covering the ground from Lee’s Ferry to Escalante. On the ground, a party of nine horseback riders joined the search, but discontinued their effort a week later.
Some believe Ruess may have fallen off a cliff or drowned in a flash flood; others suspected he had been murdered.
Agency Name: Garfield Country Sheriff's Office
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 435-676-2678
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 0042753
Agency Name: UT DPS
Agency Contact Person: Kathy Mackay
Agency Phone Number: 833-377-7233
Agency E-Mail: kmackay@utah.gov
Agency Case Number: 0042753
NamUs Case Number: 53417
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs
UT DPS
The Salt Lake Tribune - Apr. 25, 2009
Added: 08/24/2011; Last Updated: 06/02/2024 - By: hb
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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