My son's boat came home without him.

Added: 2026-04-30

[00:00:00]My son's boat came home without him.

[00:00:02]Their luggage was still on board.

[00:00:05]Bessie's diary was still on board. They were not.

[00:00:09]Glen was 29.

[00:00:10]Bessie was 22.

[00:00:12]They had just married. They built a wooden scow with their own hands and pushed off down the Colorado River for their honeymoon. [music] They set off on the 20th of October, 1928.

[00:00:23]Bessie kept a diary.

[00:00:25]The last people who saw them were two prospectors at Hermit Camp on the 18th of November.

[00:00:30]Bessie left a roll of film with them.

[00:00:32]She said she'd be back in 3 months.

[00:00:35]A search party found their boat on the 12th of December, tied up neatly just above the worst rapid on the river.

[00:00:41]Their flour was still tied down.

[00:00:44]Glen's rifle was on the seat.

[00:00:46]Bessie's wedding handkerchief was folded on the bedroll.

[00:00:49]Bessie's diary was open.

[00:00:51]The last entry was the 30th of November.

[00:00:55]There was no entry for the 1st of December.

[00:00:58]They were 8 [music] days from the end of the run.

[00:01:01]I hired pilots to fly the canyon for 200 miles. We saw nothing.

[00:01:06]For the next 6 years, I walked the banks.

[00:01:09]I dragged the river.

[00:01:11]I paid trappers in the canyon to look for any sign.

[00:01:15]A woman in California in 1971 claimed to be Bessie. She knew details only Bessie could have known.

[00:01:21]She also said Bessie had killed Glen before leaving the boat. She refused [music] all DNA tests.

[00:01:27]I died in 1934 still searching.

[00:01:31]There are two empty graves beside mine in Twin Falls.

[00:01:35]For Glen. For Bessie.

[00:01:39]I am afraid they walked off the boat to wait for help that never came.

[00:01:43]I am more afraid they walked off the boat alive and walked away from me.