Summary of The Honeymooners

Overview of The Honeymooners (Park Predators)

This Park Predators episode from Audiochuck examines the baffling disappearance of newlyweds Glenn and Bessie Hyde, who vanished in Grand Canyon National Park during their 1928 Colorado River honeymoon. What first looked like a tragic boating accident soon grew into a decades-long mystery involving rumored arguments, possible foul play, a disputed skeleton discovery, and even an alleged confession from a woman decades later. The case remains unresolved and is still one of the most haunting disappearances tied to the Grand Canyon.

The Hydes Before the Trip

Glenn Hyde

• Raised in Idaho and grew up as an experienced outdoorsman.
• He and his family loved camping, hunting, fishing, and traveling through rugged terrain.
• By adulthood, Glenn was comfortable in wilderness settings and boating.

Bessie Hyde

• Grew up in Pittsburgh and later Parkersburg, West Virginia.
• Was artistic, independent, and active in school.
• Married young, but her first marriage to Earl did not last.

Glenn and Bessie’s relationship

• Bessie met Glenn in 1927 while traveling by steamship.
• They quickly became inseparable and planned a life together.
• Bessie had to divorce Earl first, which caused tension and family resistance.
• After the divorce, she married Glenn in Twin Falls, Idaho, and the couple settled into farm life before planning their river trip.

The Colorado River Honeymoon

The journey begins

• In October 1928, the couple launched their trip from Green River, Utah.
• Glenn built their boat himself: a sweep scow canoe.
• They packed supplies, a rifle, bedding, and provisions—but no life jackets.
• They entered one of the river’s most dangerous stretches, including Cataract Canyon, known as the “Graveyard of the Colorado.”

Progress through the canyon

• The Hydes endured rough water, rain, and dangerous conditions.
• Glenn wrote to his father that they were ahead of schedule.
• They reached Grand Canyon Village, where they rested, resupplied, and spoke to reporters.
• Their story drew national interest, with the press framing them as potential record-setters.

The Kolbs and the final sighting

• At Grand Canyon Village, they met Emery and Ellsworth Kolb.
• On November 17, 1928, Emery Kolb joined Glenn and Bessie on the river for a short stretch.
• After encountering violent water and a whirlpool, Emery eventually left the boat.
• This was the last confirmed sighting of the Hydes.

The Search and the Found Boat

Family alarm

• Glenn’s father, Roland Hyde, became worried when the couple missed their expected arrival.
• Bessie’s parents also pushed authorities to act.
• A formal search began on December 17, 1928, with a reward offered.

Discovery of the scow

• On December 19, pilots spotted the Hydes’ boat near Diamond Creek.
• The Kolbs later retrieved it and found:
  • the boat upright and undamaged,
  • food and supplies still aboard,
  • coats, boots, rifle, camera, and film inside,
  • Bessie’s journal wedged in the boat,
  • a mooring line tied to a rock crevice.
• The last journal entry was dated November 30, 1928.

Why the boat mattered

• The fact that the boat was intact made the disappearance more mysterious.
• The mooring line raised speculation:
  • Did the Hydes tie it themselves and hike out?
  • Were bodies submerged nearby?
  • Did someone else interfere?
• The Kolbs cut the line and later removed items from the boat, which may have destroyed evidence.

The Main Theories

1. River accident

This is the simplest explanation:

• Glenn and Bessie may have fallen into the river and drowned.
• The Colorado River was extremely dangerous, especially in that era.
• Many contemporaries believed this was the most likely outcome.

2. Marital conflict and foul play

Several accounts suggested:

• Glenn may have pressured Bessie to continue the trip.
• Bessie may have wanted to stop.
• Witnesses later claimed the couple argued and that Glenn forced Bessie back into the boat.
• Some historians and family members believed a crime may have occurred.

3. Glenn may have been killed

A later discovery fueled this theory:

• In the late 1970s, a skeleton was found in a boathouse on Emery Kolb’s property.
• The remains initially seemed possibly linked to Glenn Hyde.
• But forensic analysis showed the skeleton was not Glenn.

4. Bessie survived and disappeared

A sensational theory emerged in the 1970s:

• A woman named Liz allegedly claimed, “I’m Bessie Hyde.”
• She reportedly told a story of killing her husband after an argument, sinking his body, and hiking out alone.
• She later denied the story, and most researchers doubted it was true.

Later Investigations and Reassessment

The skeleton case

• Forensic anthropologist Dr. Walter Birkby examined the remains.
• He determined the skeleton was a young white male who had died from a gunshot wound in the 1920s.
• Initial comparisons suggested a resemblance to Glenn, but closer analysis ruled him out.
• The identity of the skeleton remains unknown, though later investigators concluded it was likely a separate suicide victim.

History researcher Otis Doc Marston

• Marston spent years interviewing river people and family members.
• He gathered rumors, oral histories, and possible sightings.
• He ultimately concluded the Hydes likely died on the river.

Why the Mystery Endures

Evidence lost to time

Several factors make a resolution unlikely:

• The search was incomplete.
• The boat was not preserved as evidence.
• Bessie’s original journal was later destroyed.
• The area where the boat was found was eventually flooded by Lake Mead after the Boulder Canyon Project Act and dam construction.

What remains unknown

• Did they drown?
• Did one spouse kill the other?
• Did they somehow survive and leave the canyon?
• Was someone else involved?

Key Takeaways

• Glenn and Bessie Hyde disappeared during a highly publicized 1928 Colorado River honeymoon.
• Their boat was found intact, but the couple was gone.
• Rumors of arguments, foul play, and hidden remains kept the case alive for decades.
• Later investigations ruled out one dramatic skeleton theory, but no definitive answer has ever emerged.
• The disappearance remains one of the Grand Canyon’s most enduring mysteries.

Final Thought

The episode leaves listeners with a classic unsolved-park mystery: a dangerous landscape, a vanished couple, contradictory witness accounts, and too little surviving evidence. Whether the Hydes were victims of the river, their relationship, or something darker, the truth has likely been lost to time.