Solution to a Longtime Mystery in Utah Is Questioned
The saga of Everett Ruess, an idealistic young wanderer whose disappearance in 1934 sparked one of the most enduring mysteries of the modern West, is not over yet.
Mr. Ruess’s family said last week that because of questions raised by Utah’s state archaeologist, they would seek independent retesting of remains found last year on the Navajo Indian Reservation in southern Utah. Scientists at the University of Colorado — in a joint announcement in April with National Geographic Adventure magazine, which wrote about the discovery — said the remains, based on forensic analysis and DNA testing, were almost certainly those of Mr. Ruess.
But Utah’s state archaeologist, Kevin Jones, said he thought the remains were more likely those of an American Indian because of the distinctive shape of the teeth and their pattern of wear, and because Mr. Ruess’s dental records from the 1930s did not appear to match. Dr. Jones emphasized that he had not been able to examine the remains physically and that his critique, written with a physical anthropologist also at the Utah Division of State History, was based on published photographs.
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Mr. Ruess’s family said last week that because of questions raised by Utah’s state archaeologist, they would seek independent retesting of remains found last year on the Navajo Indian Reservation in southern Utah. Scientists at the University of Colorado — in a joint announcement in April with National Geographic Adventure magazine, which wrote about the discovery — said the remains, based on forensic analysis and DNA testing, were almost certainly those of Mr. Ruess.
But Utah’s state archaeologist, Kevin Jones, said he thought the remains were more likely those of an American Indian because of the distinctive shape of the teeth and their pattern of wear, and because Mr. Ruess’s dental records from the 1930s did not appear to match. Dr. Jones emphasized that he had not been able to examine the remains physically and that his critique, written with a physical anthropologist also at the Utah Division of State History, was based on published photographs.