Katharina Buczek
Among the traveling gear was Bessie’s diary, which contained entries dated up until November 30. This indicated that the Hydes had successfully spent an additional 12 days traveling.
Plus, according to the entries, the couple was actually ahead of their travel schedule. The couple reportedly made it to Diamond Creek, which is 12 miles away from where the abandoned scow was eventually discovered. Moreover, no entries in the diary indicated that Glen or Bessie had any intentions of cutting the trip short.
Once the scow was found, a widespread search of the area was launched. But, this effort ultimately turned up no answers, and the disappearance of Glen and Bessie remained cold for decades.
However, by 1971, a woman named Elizabeth Cutler brought the cold case into the limelight again. That year, Elizabeth went on a river tour of the Grand Canyon with a tour group. And while sitting at a campfire one evening, she claimed to have been Bessie Hyde. Moreover, Elizabeth alleged that she stabbed and killed her husband during an argument and claimed to have been living in hiding since then.
Some people did not believe Elizabeth and instead thought that she was trying to pull a prank or gain some attention. Then, after the woman was eventually tracked down by a journalist, she actually denied the entire story.
In fact, Elizabeth not only denied claiming to be Bessie, but she also claimed to have never heard of the Hydes, to begin with.
Nonetheless, this strange tale did not die with Elizabeth’s denial. Instead, more questions about Grand Canyon travelers’ true identities began to rise.
By the time Georgie Clarke, an iconic Grand Canyon river guide, died in 1992, some people actually began to question her identity. She had left behind some personal effects, which included a pistol, a birth certificate that listed her born name as Bessie DeRoss, and even the Hydes’ marriage certificate.
However, Georgie’s early life was reportedly very well-documented. So, the discovery was not enough to reopen the Hydes case.
Theories Run Rampant
Following the tale allegedly told by Elizabeth Cutler, some people also firmly believed that Glen had been murdered. However, the identity of the supposed killer was not so straightforward.
