Were any of the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald ever found?

Were any of the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald ever found?

The entire crew of 29 people died when the vessel sank. No bodies were ever recovered from the wreckage. Later when the wreck was found, it was discovered that the ship had broken in two. It still sits on the bottom of Lake Superior at 530 feet deep.

Why didn’t they recover bodies from the Edmund Fitzgerald?

The average temperature of Lake Superior is about 36°F, cold enough to inhibit bacterial growth and prevent bodies from rising. In the case of the Edmund Fitzgerald bodies, they all went down with the ship and never came back up.

Why do they say Lake Superior never gives up her dead?

Lightfoot sings that “Superior, they said, never gives up her dead”. This is because of the unusually cold water, under 36 °F (2 °C) on average around 1970. Normally, bacteria decaying a sunken body will bloat it with gas, causing it to float to the surface after a few days.

Who found the Edmund Fitzgerald?

the U.S. Navy
From May 20 to 28, 1976, the U.S. Navy dived on the wreck using its unmanned submersible, CURV-III, and found Edmund Fitzgerald lying in two large pieces in 530 feet (160 m) of water.

Do bodies float in Lake Superior?

While it is reasonable to assume that the colder parts of Lake Superior slow the bacteria and encourage the formation of adipocere, leading to dead bodies that remain sunken in these areas, there are parts of the lake that are more shallow and in these areas bodies will float.

What is the biggest creature in Lake Superior?

Lake sturgeon are the largest fish in Lake Superior. They among the oldest fish in the lake too. Did you know that a lake sturgeon can live to be older than 100 years? This species of fish has also been around for a long time—about 150 million years.

What were the final words ever transmitted from the Edmund Fitzgerald?

“We’re holding our own, going along like an old shoe.” – Last transmission from the Edmund Fitzgerald.