The Disappearance of Lynn Simmons

Summary

---

Uinta Triangle – Bonus Episode: The Disappearance of Lynn Simmons

Podcast: Uinta Triangle
Host: Dave Cawley (Lemonada Media)
Date: May 20, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This bonus episode delves into the largely forgotten case of Lynn Simmons, a young government surveyor who vanished in Utah's Uinta Mountains in 1940. Host Dave Cawley uncovers how Lynn's memory faded from history—even within his own family—and chronicles the determined, years-long effort to recover his story. Through interviews with Lynn’s family, a deep dive into historical documents, and a collaborative search for answers, the episode explores the pain of ambiguous loss, the importance of remembrance, and the power of investigative storytelling.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Forgotten Disappearance of Lynn Simmons

• Background: Lynn Simmons disappeared while surveying near La Motte Peak in September 1940.
• Personal Impact: Family members never heard his story directly—pain, silence, and unanswered questions pervaded generations.

Dave Cawley introduces the episode highlighting how easily such cases can fade:

"How even the very memory of Lynn was almost lost to history." (00:49)

2. Family Memories and Generational Silence

• Relatives Interviewed: Siblings Mary Lee Peterson and Ron Luke share fragmented recollections, having only heard the story from their mother, Lynn’s sister, who was a teenager when he vanished.

Mary Lee Peterson:

"They looked for quite a few weeks for him and just never found any trace." (01:44)

Ron Luke:

"A detail I always heard her talk about was the horse came back to camp, but he never did." (02:25)
"Growing up, I never heard his parents, my grandparents, ever talk about it." (02:25)

• Emotional Burden: The family's fear and sorrow, and their grandparents’ quiet pain, lingered for decades.

Mary Lee Peterson:

“My mother was only 14 years old and her brother was 20 ... They were very quiet people that didn’t talk much.” (02:38)
“My grandparents really had... They must have had a pain in their heart for that loss. … to have your child gone, but not know ... and to live with that your whole life.” (03:56)

3. Rediscovery Through Lost Letters

• Revelation: Decades later, a forgotten box in the attic turned out to hold Lynn’s letters to his wife, Rita, offering rare first-person insight into his life and disappearance.

Mary Lee Peterson:

"That was very like a treasure trove ... dates, names, ... what he was doing day to day." (06:50)
“It was very emotional to read through those letters.” (06:50)

• Host Engagement: Dave Cawley uncovers Mary Lee’s short FamilySearch posting, prompting a partnership between him and Lynn’s relatives to reconstruct his story.

Dave Cawley:

“All I could find was that paragraph Mary Lee posted to FamilySearch. And the mention of the Interior Secretary's letter intrigued me.” (07:23)

4. Collaborative Investigation

• Dual Search: Mary Lee and Dave Cawley combine efforts. Mary investigates university records; Dave examines historic newspapers and survey maps, gradually assembling a fuller picture.

Mary Lee Peterson:

“Every physically able moment I had … I worked on searching, and it's feverish, you know, I would dream about it.” (09:20)

• Key Details Revealed:
  • Lynn worked a difficult, solitary, and dangerous job to support his family.
  • He was a “hard worker”—a detail lost until discovered in his correspondence.
  • News articles revealed search efforts and new timelines, such as four Forest Service telephones and a mysterious post-disappearance call (possibly from Lynn) that remains unexplained. (10:32–11:36)

5. Bringing Lynn’s Case into the Present

• Pursuing Formal Acknowledgment: The family, with help from the Summit County Sheriff's Office, succeed in adding Lynn to the missing persons registry and providing DNA for potential identification if remains are found.

Mary Lee Peterson:

"He really did go the extra mile to ... get him on the missing persons registry." (13:21)

Ron Luke:

"It's a physical record that he did go missing, that he's never been found, and it becomes part of a historical record." (13:29)

• Commemoration: In September 2024, on the anniversary of Lynn’s disappearance, Dave, Mary Lee, Ron, and family members revisit the Uinta Mountains, contextualizing family lore at the actual site.

6. Emotional Closure and the Role of Remembrance

• Gratitude and Reflection: The family expresses deep thanks to Dave for his research and empathy.

Mary Lee Peterson:

"We feel like it's a miracle, really, that you were drawn to our story and ... to do all that you did ... So I don't know if you'll put any of that in there, but I want you to be sure to say something about it." (15:05)

Dave Cawley (closing):

"It's my hope that by including Lynn's story in this podcast, we can all help keep Lynn's memory alive." (15:28)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Generational Pain:
  "My grandparents really had... They must have had a pain in their heart for that loss." – Mary Lee Peterson (03:56)
• On Memorialization:
  "We realized a few years ago that there was no memorial or remembering of his life anywhere." – Ron Luke (04:39)
• On the Investigative Process:
  "It just started this craziness in my head, and I could not put all of this down for several months." – Mary Lee Peterson (08:39)
• On the Power of Collaboration:
  "It seemed like an incredible favor, like an incredible miracle that you would have been interested in that story and how it all came together." – Mary Lee Peterson (14:23)
• On the Importance of History:
  "It's a physical record ... it becomes part of a historical record. And that's what we as his family desire, is that he'd be remembered." – Ron Luke (13:29)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:33 – Dave Cawley introduces the episode’s focus on Lynn Simmons
• 01:44 – 05:09 – Relatives discuss family memories and the pain of Lynn’s loss
• 06:15 – 06:50 – Discovery and significance of Lynn’s letters
• 07:23 – 10:32 – Collaborative efforts to reconstruct the case and life of Lynn
• 10:44 – 11:36 – Mysterious “last phone call” from the Forest Service phone lines
• 13:09 – 13:47 – Formal registry of Lynn as a missing person
• 13:47 – 15:28 – The 2024 family visit to the Uinta Mountains and reflections on remembrance and gratitude

---

Tone & Language

The episode is thoughtful, intimate, and investigative, blending historical curiosity with deep emotional resonance. The speakers express pain, gratitude, and relentless curiosity, often in straightforward and heartfelt language.

---

For anyone who has not listened to the episode:
This summary captures the journey of rediscovering a loved one lost in the wilderness—and nearly lost to memory—and shows how families, journalists, and the public can come together to give back dignity and recognition to the disappeared. Lynn Simmons’s story, once perilously close to oblivion, is now part of the historical record, and his memory preserved for future generations.

Transcript

[Lowe's Announcer]

During Memorial Day at Lowe's shop Household must haves for less. Save $80 on the Char Broil Performance Series 4 Burner Grill to chef up something special plus get up to 45% off. Select major appliances to keep things fresh. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's Lowes. We help you save valid through 527 while supplies last selection varies by location. See Lowes.com for details.

[Commercial Narrator]

Visit your nearby Lowes.

[Dave Cawley]

I'm Dave Colley and this is a bonus episode of Uinta Triangle. In episode three, you heard the story of Lynn Simmons, the young man who disappeared while working on a government survey crew in September of 1940.

[Ron Luke]

Boy, this country up here is nothing

[Dave Cawley]

but one cliff after another. You may not remember the details because I went by pretty fast in the episode. That's okay. Here we're going to talk about the story behind the story. How even the very memory of Lyn was almost lost to history. My original concept for this show was quite different from what it became years ago. I pitched the idea of doing a case per episode series covering as many stories of missing people in the Uinta Mountains as I could find. That raised a question. Just how many people are there who have disappeared in the Uintas over the years? I started digging into old newspaper archives, trying to come up with an answer. And that's how I first came across the name Lynn Simmons. But when I looked for Lynn on missing persons databases or cold case registries, I came up empty. Turns out the same was true for Lynn's relatives.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

We knew that he was working on a project, on a survey project. We knew that he was with a team of people and the storm started and he didn't ever come back to the camp. He was at the end, he was behind the group. They looked for quite a few weeks for him and just never found any trace.

[Dave Cawley]

That's Mary Lee Peterson. Mary Lee and her brother Ron Luke are related to Lynn through their mother.

[Ron Luke]

So Lynn Simmons was my mother's brother. Lynn was lost when my mother was a teenager.

[Dave Cawley]

Ron and Mary Lee never knew Lynn themselves. He disappeared before they were born. And they only heard the story of his disappearance vaguely.

[Ron Luke]

Growing up, I never heard his parents, my grandparents, ever talk about it. My mother talked about it. A detail I always heard her talk about was the horse came back to camp, but he never did.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

And my mother was only 14 years old and her brother was 20. And so he knew exactly because he came up and searched with my grandfather. They did a lot of searching, but they weren't talkers. They were very quiet people that didn't talk much.

[Ron Luke]

And we often. Every summer as I was growing up, we came up here and stayed sometimes here at Christmas. Meadows, still water. Other times down lower, on the other side of the. Of Bald Mountain, at different campgrounds. Most regularly around the campfire at night, there was some discussion of my uncle and him being lost up here, but

[Mary Lee Peterson]

we never really knew where exactly or any other details. But our grandparents, his parents, they would be really worried when we would come camping up here because they were afraid that the same thing would happen. And they would tell my mom, don't you let any of those kids get away.

[Ron Luke]

I grew up as a young man in the scouting program, too, and came to all these scout camps. They're here in the Uintas. And again, as I sat around those campfires, I thought, well, where was it? We knew little other than that he was lost.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

My grandparents really had. They must have had a pain in their heart for that loss. And you can only imagine how hard it would be to have your child gone, but not know anything or any reason why or where and to live with that your whole life.

[Ron Luke]

And then thinking about, well, how did he die? And guessing what happened.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

So that was when we were young. But all through the years, we would always talk about it and share with other people, and they'd be surprised. So there's many of our friends and other families and whatever that know the story. And I've always been really interested in how could that happen. And that's kind of what we grew up with.

[Ron Luke]

We realized a few years ago that there was no memorial or remembering of his life anywhere. As we would go to the cemetery, there's my grandparents, there's my parents. There's my one brother who passed away, but nothing memorializing him.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

I just really felt like he needed to be remembered and not lost.

[Dave Cawley]

But how could Lynn be remembered when Ron, Mary Lee and the rest of their family knew so little about him? Piecing the story together was a slow process, played out over many years when my grandparents died.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

So that would have been in the 70s. And when my parents cleaned out their house, there was a box of, you know, papers and memory things, and my mother took it home with her to her house, and it went straight up into our attic and was forgotten, and nobody knew it was there, what was in it, or whatever. And so then when my parents died in the 2013 or whatever, and we sold their house and it was almost empty, we found that box and had it sitting around. And everyone said, no, no, I Don't want it. I don't want it. So I took it and still didn't look in it very much. But the day came when I searched for, you know, through that box of information, and I started seeing letters from Lynn to Rita.

[Dave Cawley]

Rita was Lynn's wife then. They had a young son, Larry. Rita and Larry lived with Lynn's parents in Salt Lake City, Utah, while Lynn was at work in the mountains. Lynn's letters described the loneliness he felt being separated from them and the wild and challenging environment in which he worked. The letters are deeply personal. Lynn and Rita talk about their relationships with friends and family, discuss the stresses of household finances, and expressed their love for one another. The postmarks are proof of where Lyn was at various points through the 1930s and into 1940.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

And that was very like a treasure trove. You know, I had dates, I had names, I had what he was doing day to day. I had information about, you know, several other people in his story, just other things like that. And it was very emotional to read through those letters. There was a time that I started searching through the material and putting the information together and trying to write the briefest paragraph down and putting it where other people could read it or whatever.

[Dave Cawley]

Mary Lee posted this paragraph and a brief timeline of Lynn's life on the genealogy website FamilySearch. She still didn't know the exact date her uncle vanished or from which mountain. But she mentioned her files included a letter the US Interior Secretary sent to Lynn's wife, Rita in October of 1940, expressing his regrets over the failure of the search to find Lynn. Unbeknownst to Mary Lee, I was at the same time doing that research about missing people in the Uinta Mountains. I had never heard of Lynn until I came across those newspaper articles that talked about the search for him around a mountain called La Motte Peak. I knew Lamott Peak well. I'd been to its summit and wandered off trail all around its flanks. So it surprised me. I had never heard of Lynn's case. Surely I thought, Lynn must be included on a missing persons database. I searched and came up empty. Lynn appeared to have been forgotten. All I could find was that paragraph marylee posted to FamilySearch. And the mention of the Interior Secretary's letter intrigued me. What a fascinating bit of history. I sent Mary Lee an email asking if she would share that letter with me. In return, I provided all the old newspaper clippings I had gathered.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

It just started this craziness in my head, and I could not put all of this down for Several months.

[Dave Cawley]

La motte peak, where Lynn was last seen, isn't a common destination for hikers. There are no trails to the summit, and not many people visit it. But since I'd been there, I was able to share photos with Mary Lee. We started brainstorming about where else we could look for information. Mary Lee talked to the universities Lynn had attended in the years before his disappearance. I hunted down the maps and records created by the survey party. Piece by piece, we compiled a more complete picture of Lynn's life and loss.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

Every physically able moment I had, and no attending grandkids and whatever. In the middle of the night, I worked on searching, and it's feverish, you know, I would dream about it. I had many dreams about what I was, you know, trying to understand what I was looking at.

[Ron Luke]

We also had the chance to read news articles, what was published in the newspapers, and that's been wonderful, Putting a whole new dimension to that story, as I learned growing up.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

We learned his character, and we learned his challenges, and we learned his education and, you know, his triumphs, his, you know, several different things. Lynn did the survey job to support his family, and it wasn't an easy job. It was a hard hiking. Be away from your family, in the cold, in the dirt, in the mice, in your tent. You know, it wasn't fun, but he did. It was a hard, hard job that he did to support his family. And I think that's one more notch to add to our memories, is that he was a hard worker.

[Ron Luke]

We'd never heard about that. There were four service phones up here. We'd never heard about how the. There were lots of people that came to look for him.

[Dave Cawley]

Those phone lines Ron mentioned are an intriguing piece to the mystery. Back in 1940, the Forest Service had a series of guard stations scattered around the fringes of the uintah mountains. They were connected by a telephone cable strung from tree to tree. The newspaper stories say on the morning after Lynn was last seen, an unidentified man used a phone connected to that line to make a call. The man asked for the time and questioned where he was. Then the call disconnected. The summit county sheriff, who was in charge of the search was never able to confirm whether Lynn made that call. That got me thinking about whether the current sheriff might have any old records. I submitted a public records request, only to learn the summit county sheriff doesn't have anything that old.

[Commercial Narrator]

When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Grainger offers millions of products in fast, dependable delivery so you can keep your facility stocked, safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. If you walk into a room and can't remember why, it could be nothing or something more. If you confuse a familiar recipe, it could be a slip up or it could be associated with amyloid plaque buildup in the brain. Amyloid is a protein that your body produces naturally, but a buildup in the brain could lead to memory and thinking issues. To see what may be behind your memory and thinking issues, talk to your doctor about getting a full assessment. It's never too early to start the conversation. Visit amyloid.com to learn more.

[Lowe's Announcer]

During Memorial Day at Lowe's Shop Household must haves for less. Save $80 on a Char Broil Performance Series 4 Burner Grill to chef up something special plus get up to 45% off. Select major appliances to keep things fresh. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's Lowe's we help you Save valid through 527 while supplies last. Selection varies by location. See Lowes.com for details.

[Commercial Narrator]

Visit your nearby Lowe's.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

We decided that one goal we had was to get him on the missing persons list and connected with a fellow in Summit County.

[Dave Cawley]

Again, that's the sheriff's office with jurisdiction over Lynn's case.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

He really did go the extra mile to help us and give us information and get him on the missing persons registry.

[Ron Luke]

It's a physical record that he did go missing, that he's never been found and it becomes part of a historical record. And that's what we as his family desire, is that he'd be remembered.

[Dave Cawley]

The families also provided DNA. That way, if unidentified bones are ever discovered near La Motte Peak, investigators will have a reference to compare them against. In September of 2024, around the 84 year anniversary of Lynn's disappearance, I had the honor of accompanying Mary Lee, Ron and some of Lynn's other relatives to the Uinta Mountains. We went to a spot near where that government survey party was based all those decades before. It provided us a clear view of lamotte Peak, where Lynn was last seen. Finally, those old campfire stories gained new context.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

It seemed like an incredible favor, like an incredible miracle that you would have been interested in that story and how it all came together. And I think I've said many times, but will be forever grateful for the incredible amount of work you did and details and helping us understand just gratitude

[Ron Luke]

for you for all of the efforts that you've gone to to help us find the information and better know what happened to my uncle.

[Mary Lee Peterson]

We feel like it's a miracle, really that you were drawn to our story and that you were, you know, willing or had the time, you know, to do all that you did in the middle of the night or whenever you did it on top of everything else. So I don't know if you'll put any of that in there, but I want you to be sure to say something about it. So

[Dave Cawley]

my thanks to Ron, Mary Lee and the rest of Lynn Simmons family for trusting me to play my small part. It's my hope that by including Lynn's story in this podcast, we can all help keep Lynn's memory alive. This bonus episode was produced by me, Dave Cawley. Our executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittleswax for lemonada Media and Cheryl Worsley for KSL Podcasts. For more on the story of Uinta Triangle, visit our [e-mail] that's uinta spelled Uinta. Thank you for listening.

[Commercial Narrator]

Having the right people in your corner for life's biggest milestones makes all the difference. Like a friend who's there when you're house hunting or checking out a new ride, State Farm is there too, helping you choose the coverage you need. With a State Farm agent, you know someone is there to help you along the way. And with so many coverage options, it's nice knowing you have help choosing a plan that fits your needs so you can continue celebrating all of life's milestones. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there

[Lowe's Announcer]

during Memorial Day at Lowe's Shop Household Must haves for less save $80 on a Char Broil Performance Series 4 burner grill to chef up something special plus get up to 45 off select major appliances to keep things fresh. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Lowe's we help you save valid through 527 while supplies last selection varies by location. See lowe's.com for details.

[Commercial Narrator]

Visit your nearby Lowe's.

[Dave Cawley]

This is the story of the one As a maintenance tech at a university, he knows ordering from multiple suppliers takes time away from keeping their arena and up and running. That's why he counts on Grainger to get everything he needs, from lighting and H vac parts to plumbing supplies all in one place. And with fast, dependable delivery, he's stocked and ready for the next tip off, call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.