Everett Ruess
| Everett Ruess | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 28, 1914 Oakland, California |
| Disappeared | c. November 1934 (aged 20) Escalante, Utah |
| Occupation | Printmaker, artist, writer |
| Parent(s) | Christopher Ruess and Stella Knight Ruess |
Everett Ruess (March 28, 1914 – c. November 1934) was a young American artist, poet, and writer known for his solo explorations of the High Sierra, the California coast, and the deserts of the American Southwest and his ultimate disappearance while traveling through a remote area of Utah. His fate remains a mystery to this day.
In 2009, DNA from human remains found in Utah were initially linked to Ruess, but the findings were soon challenged and shown conclusively to actually be the remains of an American Indian. The 2009 find did not resolve the Ruess mystery but rather fueled popular interest in his story.
Ruess was the younger of two sons of Stella and Christopher Ruess. Christopher was a Unitarian minister whose work caused the family to move every few years. Everett's older brother, Waldo, was born on September 5, 1909. A precocious child, Everett Ruess began woodcarving, modeling in clay, and sketching at an early age. At 12, he was writing essays and verse, and began a literary diary that eventually grew into volumes, with pages telling of his travels, thoughts, and works. By 1920, the Ruess family was living in Brookline, Massachusetts, and by 1930, they were living at 836 North Kingsley Drive in Los Angeles. Ruess took a creative writing class at Los Angeles High School and later won a poetry award at Valparaiso High School, in Indiana. At Hollywood High School he served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Tabard Folk, the school's literary club. That year, he published an original poem in the yearbook, entitled "Lonesome." In 1931, he served as vice-president of the school's Civic Club.
Starting in 1931, Ruess traveled by horse and burro through Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado, exploring the high desert of the Colorado Plateau. He rode broncos, branded calves, and investigated cliff dwellings, trading his prints and watercolors to pay his way. He explored Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks and the High Sierra in the summers of 1930 and 1933. In 1934, he worked with University of California archaeologists near Kayenta, took part in a Hopi religious ceremony, and learned to speak Navajo.
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