A lot—and far too little, because she was never found. Mrs. Mary Louise Dragoo, age 43, married and mother of 2 daughters (13 yr. old Mary Marsha, living with the family, and Janet, a student at Washington State), was a cheerful and friendly neighbor, who was reportedly well liked by everyone. Her husband, Parker Dragoo was a supervisory park ranger at Bartlett Cove. The couple had accepted a position in Glacier Bay Monument just 5 months earlier from a previous park assignment in Kettle Falls, Washington.
 
Mrs. Dragoo’s disappearance was reported by her husband. The family had just finished dinner with 13 yr. old Mary Marsha when her mother, Mary, decided to take a walk. She was last seen at 6:15 p.m. Monday, May 12, 1958 walking south from her home in Bartlett Cove. A light rain was falling, and she wore a navy blue parka, slacks, and light duty shoes.

 

Early Tuesday search efforts were hampered by a heavy, cold rain and high winds. In spite of conditions, 30 Gustavus homesteaders and residents of Bartlett Cove, C.A.A. personnel, the Coast Guard Cutter Sweetbrier, 10 members of the Juneau Rescue Council, two private planes from Gustavus, Civil Air Patrol from Annette Island, plus an Alaska Coastal helicopter all mounted a massive search. By Wednesday, May 14, weather was reported excellent for aerial observation. Hundreds of square miles by land and sea were covered and covered again. But by Thursday, the Coast Guard Cutter withdrew from area waters. A special marine broadcast went out to all boats that may have been in the area. The 40 ft. depths of the bay around the dock were dragged without success.

 

By Friday, both husband and the park service agreed that the search should come to an end. A. W. Boddy, president of the Juneau Rescue Council said that hours of search by air, sea and land produced “nothing encouraging at all. We seem to have come to a dead end. We haven’t found one clue.” Locals organized beach patrols to watch for any signs in the days that followed.

 

So, what happened? How could she vanish without a trace? The real answer is that nobody knows. Just one week before her disappearance, Mary wrote the University of Alaska seeking information on the soil around her home in preparation for raising flowers and vegetables. She seemed to be happy and making plans.  But, as in any disappearance, there was immediate talk and attempted discovery as to the nature of the day and circumstances just before she could not be found. Consequently (and not surprisingly) there were theories, suspicions, and scenarios that played over and over so as to leave no stone unturned. Locals taking part in the rescue reported rumors of a possible argument between Mary and Parker that day. They also reported that although Mary was a heavy smoker, her cigarettes were left at home on the counter—something they could not conceive she would have done. Mary Dragoo was considered by almost everyone here to be a friend. Certainly she was a "neighbor" though many miles of dense woods grew between them. The goal was to find Mary Dragoo, a hope that sadly would not be realized.

 

If there was an official investigation done at the time of Mary Dragoo's disappearance, Gustavus History has not been able at this time to locate the records. Published in the Murray County News (the Fulda, Mn. hometown paper of the Dragoos) May 22, 1958 was the following notice: Mrs. Dragoo is lost in the wilds of Alaska. Search parties have been looking for Mrs. Dragoo with no luck. According to her husband, Mrs. Dragoo was very inquisitive and enthusiastic. It is suspected she wondered off to explore and either fell, got lost or worse, encountered a bear.

Parker Dragoo also believed Mary might be off to visit the Ibachs who lived on Lemesurier Island approximately 10 miles across the water, with no cabins or help accessible by land or water in between. But, no boats were discovered missing, and as best could be determined, no seaman or ships were utilized for the trip. Nor did she ever arrive. GHAA has a letter that Parker wrote to Joe and Muz Ibach on July 9, 1958 (almost 2 months after Mary went missing) stating that he believed she was quite possibly still alive and making her way to Lemesurier Island. He requested that the Ibachs put his letter in their guest book for Mary to see (if she arrived) so that she would know that she was missed.

Soon after this letter, Parker, and his young daughter moved to Death Valley where he was a ranger for a short time--the remainder of 1958 until mid 1959 when he left because of failing health.

 

According to a California death notice, Parker died in Los Angeles on December 10, 1959 (at the age of 45) just a year and a half after Mary's disappearance--having been in poor health for six months.

 

Unfortunately, the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Mary Louise Dragoo will likely remain forever unsolved.

This article was revised July 29, 2013

A lot—and far too little, because she was never found. Mrs. Mary Louise Dragoo, age 43, married and mother of 2 daughters (13 yr. old Mary Marsha, living with the family, and Janet, a student at Washington State), was a cheerful and friendly neighbor, who was reportedly well liked by everyone. Her husband, Parker Dragoo was a supervisory park ranger at Bartlett Cove. The couple had accepted a position in Glacier Bay Monument just 5 months earlier from a previous park assignment in Kettle Falls, Washington.
 
Mrs. Dragoo’s disappearance was reported by her husband. The family had just finished dinner with 13 yr. old Mary Marsha when her mother, Mary, decided to take a walk. She was last seen at 6:15 p.m. Monday, May 12, 1958 walking south from her home in Bartlett Cove. A light rain was falling, and she wore a navy blue parka, slacks, and light duty shoes.

 

Early Tuesday search efforts were hampered by a heavy, cold rain and high winds. In spite of conditions, 30 Gustavus homesteaders and residents of Bartlett Cove, C.A.A. personnel, the Coast Guard Cutter Sweetbrier, 10 members of the Juneau Rescue Council, two private planes from Gustavus, Civil Air Patrol from Annette Island, plus an Alaska Coastal helicopter all mounted a massive search. By Wednesday, May 14, weather was reported excellent for aerial observation. Hundreds of square miles by land and sea were covered and covered again. But by Thursday, the Coast Guard Cutter withdrew from area waters. A special marine broadcast went out to all boats that may have been in the area. The 40 ft. depths of the bay around the dock were dragged without success.

 

By Friday, both husband and the park service agreed that the search should come to an end. A. W. Boddy, president of the Juneau Rescue Council said that hours of search by air, sea and land produced “nothing encouraging at all. We seem to have come to a dead end. We haven’t found one clue.” Locals organized beach patrols to watch for any signs in the days that followed.

 

So, what happened? How could she vanish without a trace? The real answer is that nobody knows. Just one week before her disappearance, Mary wrote the University of Alaska seeking information on the soil around her home in preparation for raising flowers and vegetables. She seemed to be happy and making plans.  But, as in any disappearance, there was immediate talk and attempted discovery as to the nature of the day and circumstances just before she could not be found. Consequently (and not surprisingly) there were theories, suspicions, and scenarios that played over and over so as to leave no stone unturned. Locals taking part in the rescue reported rumors of a possible argument between Mary and Parker that day. They also reported that although Mary was a heavy smoker, her cigarettes were left at home on the counter—something they could not conceive she would have done. Mary Dragoo was considered by almost everyone here to be a friend. Certainly she was a "neighbor" though many miles of dense woods grew between them. The goal was to find Mary Dragoo, a hope that sadly would not be realized.

 

If there was an official investigation done at the time of Mary Dragoo's disappearance, Gustavus History has not been able at this time to locate the records. Published in the Murray County News (the Fulda, Mn. hometown paper of the Dragoos) May 22, 1958 was the following notice: Mrs. Dragoo is lost in the wilds of Alaska. Search parties have been looking for Mrs. Dragoo with no luck. According to her husband, Mrs. Dragoo was very inquisitive and enthusiastic. It is suspected she wondered off to explore and either fell, got lost or worse, encountered a bear.

Parker Dragoo also believed Mary might be off to visit the Ibachs who lived on Lemesurier Island approximately 10 miles across the water, with no cabins or help accessible by land or water in between. But, no boats were discovered missing, and as best could be determined, no seaman or ships were utilized for the trip. Nor did she ever arrive. GHAA has a letter that Parker wrote to Joe and Muz Ibach on July 9, 1958 (almost 2 months after Mary went missing) stating that he believed she was quite possibly still alive and making her way to Lemesurier Island. He requested that the Ibachs put his letter in their guest book for Mary to see (if she arrived) so that she would know that she was missed.

Soon after this letter, Parker, and his young daughter moved to Death Valley where he was a ranger for a short time--the remainder of 1958 until mid 1959 when he left because of failing health.

 

According to a California death notice, Parker died in Los Angeles on December 10, 1959 (at the age of 45) just a year and a half after Mary's disappearance--having been in poor health for six months.

 

Unfortunately, the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Mary Louise Dragoo will likely remain forever unsolved.

This article was revised July 29, 2013