The remains of a man found on Comb Ridge, Utah, are not those of artist and wanderer Everett Ruess, the New York Times reports, despite genetic testing that suggested they were. Ruess’s disappearance in southern Utah in the 1930s was one of the region’s biggest mysteries and he was sometimes called the Amelia Earhart of the Southwest. The case of his vanishing appeared to be solved earlier this year when a forensic team from National Geographic Adventure positively identified the body as Ruess’s.

But the DNA tests were wrong, said the scientist who conducted them. University of Colorado biologist Kenneth Krauter said he still doesn’t know how the mistake was made, but ”I’m convinced it’s extremely unlikely these are the remains of Everett Ruess, I feel badly for making my judgment in the first place, but it’s science, and it’s difficult.”

Utah’s state archaeologist wasn’t convinced the results were true and he suggested to Ruess’s family that they have the remains retested. Further analysis by the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory contradicted the UC results. The family and Krauter accept the Armed Forces lab’s findings.

The jawbone that was found in a crevice in the Four Corners area suggests a Native American, said Utah’s Kevin Jones, and worn teeth imply a diet of coarse grains.

The tale of Ruess captivated many, and the story of his supposed discovery was equally compelling. A Navajo man Aneth Nez told his granddaughter that he witnessed the murder of a white man by Utes near Comb Ridge. Worried the Navajo would be blamed for the death, he hid the body in a rock outcropping. Seventy-some years later, his grandson Denny Bellson sleuthed out the body.

A story in the April/May issue of Adventure told how contributing editor David Roberts returned to the scene with Bellson and how forensic anthropologists from the University of Colorado re-created the skull, then compared it to photos of Ruess. The facial structure strongly suggested it was Ruess, and a genetic testing last spring seemed to confirm it.

For the family of Ruess, it’s been a rollercoaster. Brian Ruess, Everett’s nephew, told the Times, “”It might mean there’s a skeleton out there, but this isn’t the right one. It just means there’s a lot of graves out there,” he said.

The mystery, for now, appears unsolved.

Adventure Journal coverage of initial reports of Ruess identification. LINK.

New York Times story. LINK.

National Geographic Adventure coverage of Ruess. LINK.

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