I know it might not seem like it, but this is one of the most disturbing photos in National Park history. The reason is simple: shortly after this picture was taken, the couple in it vanished forever. The story of Glenn and Bessie Hyde has haunted park rangers for decades, and it’s filled with some of the most astonishing coincidences I’ve ever seen. While many people believe their disappearance was an accident, whispers of a very dark secret have surfaced over the years, hinting that something far more sinister may have happened.

This is a story with a truly unsettling twist at the very end.

In November 1928, newlyweds Glenn and Bessie Hyde embarked on an epic and ultimately tragic honeymoon. But this was more than a typical post-marriage trip; it was a quest for fame and fortune. The couple, 29-year-old Glenn and 22-year-old Bessie, had a thirst for adventure that their quiet farm life in Twin Falls, Idaho, couldn’t satisfy. Glenn concocted a daring plan to leave their mundane life behind forever.

His plan was to turn their honeymoon into a record-breaking feat. He convinced Bessie to travel down the Green and Colorado Rivers in a homemade 20-foot wooden boat. Their goals were ambitious: to break the speed record for the route and to make Bessie the first woman in history to successfully navigate the treacherous waters through the Grand Canyon. At a time when the public was captivated by adventurous figures like Charles Lindbergh and George Mallory, the Hydes hoped their accomplishment would bring them fame, wealth, and a new life.

However, the plan was far more dangerous than Glenn imagined. While he had some river experience, Bessie had none. She had never navigated violent rapids, and it has been rumored that she wasn’t as enthusiastic about the trip as her husband. On October 20th, they launched their journey from Green River, Utah, with nothing but their ambition and the promise of uncharted waters ahead.

The first few weeks went surprisingly well, despite several close calls and a very direct warning. In early November, they stopped at the outpost of Lee’s Ferry. A small group of locals, intimately familiar with the river, pleaded with the Hydes to abandon their journey. They warned the couple that their small boat was insufficient and that not taking life vests was “a dance with death itself.” Tragically, Glenn and Bessie, confident from their journey so far, ignored every single warning.

On November 15th, they reached Grand Canyon Village, where they met Emory Kolb, a well-known photographer. Glenn, eager for publicity, asked Kolb to take some portraits of them. The photos show the couple looking tired but largely in good spirits after 26 days on the river. They told Kolb they would return to retrieve the photos after their journey.

Kolb, however, was both fascinated and deeply worried. He, too, tried to convince them to turn back. He felt something was “off,” particularly with Bessie, who seemed scared. As a last resort, he offered them his spare life vests, but Glenn mysteriously refused. Just before they left, Kolb’s young daughter, who was clean and neatly dressed, caught Bessie’s attention. Bessie looked at the girl and made a disturbing comment: “I wonder if I’ll ever wear pretty shoes again.”

They allowed a man named Adolf Sutro to join them for a short stint. Sutro quickly became uncomfortable with the boat and Glenn’s leadership. He also noticed Bessie seemed scared, echoing Kolb’s earlier observation. Just two days later, at Hermit Camp, Sutro got off the boat. He took the last known photo of the couple . In this final image, Bessie’s eyes are wide and pleading, a stark contrast to Glenn’s cold, emotionless expression. After this photo, the Hydes got back in their boat and vanished forever. The date was November 18, 1928.

Weeks later, when they were officially declared missing, a search was launched. On December 19th, a search plane spotted their empty boat, snagged on some rocks at the end of the canyon. The discovery only deepened the mystery: the boat was undamaged, and all of their belongings, including their camera, Bessie’s journal, and Glenn’s gun, were still in order. The only things missing were Glenn and Bessie. The journal entries and camera film confirmed they were alive as late as November 30th, but after that date, there were no more signs of them. To this day, no confirmed trace of either person has ever been found.

The most plausible theory is that they had an accident and died, or that their boat floated away and they died while trying to hike out. However, over the decades, three bizarre twists have emerged, taking this mystery to a new level.

The Self-Proclaimed Bessie Hyde (1971):

1. In 1971, on a guided rafting trip, an elderly woman named

Elizabeth Cutler

1. shocked her group by claiming to be Bessie Hyde. She said she had stabbed her abusive husband Glenn to death and fled the canyon on foot to start a new life. While the story was investigated, it was ultimately dismissed. Cutler was a retired psychologist with a reputation for playing mind games, and she later denied ever making the claim.

The Skull in the Closet (1976): After Emory Kolb passed away in 1976, a search of his studio revealed a disturbing discovery: a skull with a bullet hole in it. This fueled speculation that Kolb had murdered Glenn to run off with Bessie. Forensic tests, however, concluded the skull did not belong to Glenn, and the mystery of why Kolb kept it remains unsolved.

The Marriage Certificate (1992): In 1992, upon the death of famous Grand Canyon river guide Georgie Clark, her friends made a shocking discovery. Hidden among her belongings were a pistol, a birth certificate showing her original name was “Bessie D. Ro,” and, most incredibly, the marriage certificate of Glenn and Bessie Hyde. While this seemed to confirm the theory that she was Bessie Hyde, detailed comparisons between their appearances have largely discredited it. Historians believe she likely obtained the certificate through her connections in the Grand Canyon rafting community, but the bizarre coincidence remains unsettling.

Chances are, Glenn and Bessie died in an accident and were never found. But with these three astonishing coincidences, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there might be something more to this story that we don’t know. What do you think?