Bones Are Not Those of Everett Ruess; Mystery Continues

Mystery continues to surround the life and death of folk legend Everett Ruess, the famed vagabond for beauty, with a new DNA analysis concluding his remains have not been found.

The Deseret News has this article describing the latest findings. Below are excerpts.

A skeleton found in the Utah wilderness last year was not that of Everett Ruess, a legendary wanderer of the 1930s, despite initial forensic tests that seemed to have solved an enduring mystery, his nephew told The Associated Press.

Everett Ruess vanished in southern Utah in 1934, writing in a final letter to his family in California that "as to when I revisit civilization, it will not be soon" and "it is enough that I am surrounded with beauty."

He was 20 and a gifted poet who explored the Southwest over much of four years. In between journeys, he hobnobbed with famous artists of his time.

Initial DNA tests were termed "irrefutable" months ago by University of Colorado researchers, but one of them said Wednesday he accepted as final the new results from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory in Rockville, Md.

An Everett Ruess Days Escalante Canyons Art Festival is held annually in Escalante, Utah, to keep alive the spirit and vision of the young artist.