The mystery of the SS Kamloops.

Hello all, wanted to bring to your attention something that I find fascinating. It starts off as a sunken ship mystery and ends up being a story of a deceased man forever trapped within it's hull.

en.wikipedia.org...-Kamloops-2

The steamship Kamloops was built by Furness Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.[3] in Haverton Hill within Stockton-on-Tees in the northeast of England for Steamships Ltd of Montreal, Quebec.[4] With a length of only 250 feet (75 m) and rated at 2,402 gross tons,[4] the Kamloops was a relatively small vessel for the Great Lakes in the 1920s.[3] She was built to fit inside the locks of the Welland Canal and other Canadian-operated canals of the lower Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River during the years prior to the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway.[3] The ship had two rigged masts, and a 1000HP triple expansion steam engine with Scotch boilers.[4]

The vessel sailed for but a few short years before meeting it's fate in 1927 along with many other ships Lake Superior has claimed.

Unfortunately for the Kamloops and other vessels assigned to Lake Superior runs, a massive storm began hammering the lake on 5 December. The Kamloops, heavily coated with ice, was last seen steaming towards the southeastern shore of Isle Royale at dusk on the following day, 6 December.[4] A search for the vessel began on 12 December, concentrating on the Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale; the search continued until 22 December.[4] However, the ship and the 22 men and women aboard were never again seen alive.[5]

Some of their bodies were discovered on a small island, not far from the sinking. Others were never found again, likely carried away by the strong Superior currents. One of these bodies would remain for viewing to this very day. Locals call him Whitey, or Grandpa. The remains of one of the ships workers still inside the engine room compartment, forever frozen in time. The term "Whitey" comes from the wax like appearance that bodies develop in extremely cold water. Decomposition is slowed down due to the extremely cold temperatures Lake Superior possesses, seeming to almost preserve bodies for all time

When divers open the compartment door a suction wave is created causing the body to sometimes float towards you. Divers have reported feeling something behind them, only to turn and see the body following their current. Whether caused by diver motions or the naturally occurring current, the body will sometimes move around the compartment as if still alive.

I find the story and the ongoing interactions with a body to be interesting and a bit disturbing. The mystery of what caused the ship to sink remains. Like the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald Lake Superior seems to keep her secrets forever. The lake also can keep the dead, as we can see here.

Hope you enjoyed a little bit of history and a spooky tale, good day to all.

reply to post by Covertblack


Do I understand this correctly? The ship is in a place that divers can easily reach it; there are in fact regular dives to it? And yet no one has had to decency to retrieve this wretched devil and give him a Christian burial--they continue to dive around him? What the hell.....?

Originally posted by Ex_CT2
reply to post by Covertblack

 

Do I understand this correctly? The ship is in a place that divers can easily reach it; there are in fact regular dives to it? And yet no one has had to decency to retrieve this wretched devil and give him a Christian burial--they continue to dive around him? What the hell.....?

edit on 6/11/2012 by Ex_CT2 because: (no reason given)

That's what it sounds like to me.
If so, the wreckage is probably owned by someone who recieves cash for tours.
It is not about what is right, it's about how much folks will pay for it.

Originally posted by g146541

Originally posted by Ex_CT2
reply to post by Covertblack

 

Do I understand this correctly? The ship is in a place that divers can easily reach it; there are in fact regular dives to it? And yet no one has had to decency to retrieve this wretched devil and give him a Christian burial--they continue to dive around him? What the hell.....?

edit on 6/11/2012 by Ex_CT2 because: (no reason given)

That's what it sounds like to me.
If so, the wreckage is probably owned by someone who recieves cash for tours.
It is not about what is right, it's about how much folks will pay for it.

Alas, alack, and holy S#!T....

Originally posted by Ex_CT2
reply to post by Covertblack

 

Do I understand this correctly? The ship is in a place that divers can easily reach it; there are in fact regular dives to it? And yet no one has had to decency to retrieve this wretched devil and give him a Christian burial--they continue to dive around him? What the hell.....?

edit on 6/11/2012 by Ex_CT2 because: (no reason given)

I believe it's a touchy subject. The individual is to my knowledge a Canadian citizen. The National Park is US territory. So to bring him up would leave a ton of questions regarding who buries him, who pays for it, where the next of kin are. It seems that they would rather leave things as they are than to kick a hornets nest.

reply to post by g146541


The territory is considered US waters as far as I know. The national park service is the group that allows divers to find and access the wreckage. This is but one of many shipwrecks in that area, and isn't the only one that still holds human remains.

Originally posted by Covertblack
reply to post by g146541

 

The territory is considered US waters as far as I know. The national park service is the group that allows divers to find and access the wreckage. This is but one of many shipwrecks in that area, and isn't the only one that still holds human remains.

That is horrible, any wreckage with human remains should be considered a gravesite and shown respect.
Otherwise pull this man up and bury him proper.
The dead should not be a tourist attraction.

Originally posted by g146541

Originally posted by Covertblack
reply to post by g146541

 

The territory is considered US waters as far as I know. The national park service is the group that allows divers to find and access the wreckage. This is but one of many shipwrecks in that area, and isn't the only one that still holds human remains.

That is horrible, any wreckage with human remains should be considered a gravesite and shown respect.
Otherwise pull this man up and bury him proper.
The dead should not be a tourist attraction.

I agree, from what I have read it is the park superintendent who makes these decisions. As it currently stands no one seems to want to deal with it. As if that isn't bad enough there have been rumors of certain individuals taking pictures with the corpse, even going as far as putting cowboy hats on him etc. Not cool.