Lake Superior is known for its immense size, deep water, cold temperatures, and hundreds of shipwrecks resting beneath its surface. Some of those wrecks are also associated with people who never made it home, leaving behind a darker part of the lake’s maritime history.
So, are there bodies in Lake Superior? Yes. Human remains have been found or documented in connection with some Lake Superior shipwrecks, while many victims of historic disasters were never recovered.
But there is no official number telling us exactly how many bodies remain at the bottom of Lake Superior. Many shipwrecks have never been found, and even when a wreck is located, determining whether human remains are still present is not always possible.
The documented disasters—from the Edmund Fitzgerald and SS Kamloops to the SS Emperor and SS Algoma—show how many lives have been lost in Lake Superior and why the number of human remains still associated with its shipwrecks cannot be determined with certainty.
Table of Contents
Edmund Fitzgerald: 29 Crew Members Lost
The sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald is one of the best-known tragedies in Lake Superior’s maritime history. On November 10, 1975, the 729-foot freighter disappeared during a powerful storm while carrying a crew of 29. The wreck was later found in deep water about 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan, and all 29 crew members were lost.
No bodies were recovered after the sinking. However, a 1994 expedition to the wreck documented what appeared to be human remains near the ship, providing evidence that human remains were still associated with the wreck nearly two decades after the disaster.
The Edmund Fitzgerald is now regarded as a maritime grave site. Because none of the 29 crew members was recovered, the wreck remains one of the clearest documented examples of a Lake Superior shipwreck associated with human remains. The site also demonstrates why a shipwreck’s death toll cannot automatically be used as a count of bodies still associated with the wreck.
SS Kamloops: 22 People Lost and “Old Whitey”
The SS Kamloops sank in Lake Superior during a severe winter storm in December 1927 while carrying cargo between Canada and the United States. The freighter had 22 people aboard, all of whom were lost in the disaster. The wreck was not discovered until 1977, nearly 50 years after the sinking.
Nine bodies were eventually recovered, while the remaining victims were never recovered. One of the most unusual reported discoveries was the remarkably preserved body of an unidentified crew member found inside the wreck. Because of its distinctive appearance, the remains became known as “Old Whitey.” The discovery is one of the most well-known examples of human remains associated with a Lake Superior shipwreck.
The SS Kamloops demonstrates why the number of people lost in a shipwreck cannot be used as the number of bodies still at the bottom of Lake Superior. Nine victims were recovered, while others were never found, and the wreck itself continues to hold historical evidence of the disaster. The condition of “Old Whitey” also reflects the unusual preservation that can occur in Lake Superior’s cold, deep waters.
SS Emperor: 12 Crew Members Lost
The SS Emperor sank near Isle Royale in Lake Superior on June 4, 1947, after striking Canoe Rocks. The 525-foot Canadian freighter went down in about 30 minutes, and 12 crew members lost their lives. The other 21 crew members survived and were rescued.
The body of first cook Evelyn Shultz was recovered shortly after the sinking, while another crew member’s remains were discovered later. In 1975, divers found the remains of another crewman deep inside the wreck. The remains were remarkably well preserved in the cold, deep water, but attempts to recover them were unsuccessful. These discoveries show that human remains can remain associated with a Lake Superior wreck for decades after a sinking.
The Emperor is another documented Lake Superior wreck associated with human remains. Some victims were recovered, while others were never recovered, and the later discovery of additional remains inside the wreck shows that the fate of victims can remain uncertain for decades after a disaster.
SS Algoma: 48 People Lost in the 1885 Disaster
The SS Algoma sank in Lake Superior during a powerful storm on November 7, 1885. The Canadian passenger and cargo steamer was carrying 63 people, including passengers and crew, when it broke apart in heavy seas near the north shore of the lake. Only 15 people survived, leaving 48 people lost in one of the deadliest shipwrecks in Lake Superior history.
The disaster occurred in extremely difficult conditions. Some bodies were later found along the shoreline, but many of those who died were never recovered. The historical record does not establish the final location of every victim. The wreck itself was not discovered until more than a century later, adding to the difficulty of determining what happened to all of those who were lost.
The SS Algoma is an important example of why the number of people who died in a shipwreck cannot be treated as the number of bodies still in Lake Superior. 48 people lost their lives, but some remains were recovered while the fate of others remains uncertain. The disaster shows how a single Lake Superior shipwreck can account for dozens of deaths without providing a precise count of human remains still underwater.
SS Superior: 35 to 42 People Lost in 1856
The SS Superior was a 191-foot side-wheel steamer that sank near Spray Falls along the Pictured Rocks shoreline on October 29, 1856. The vessel encountered heavy seas and eventually foundered on the rocks after taking on water. Passengers were thrown into the cold waters of Lake Superior, while survivors faced strong winds, snow, and a difficult journey toward safety. Historical accounts give different casualty figures, but the National Park Service records between 35 and 42 people lost in the disaster.
The wreck of the Superior lies at the base of Spray Falls in only about 10 to 30 feet of water, making it one of the shallower historic wrecks associated with Lake Superior. The site remains part of the maritime history of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, where the wreck provides evidence of the dangers faced by early steamships navigating the lake’s rocky shoreline.
The Superior is relevant to the question of bodies in Lake Superior because dozens of people died in the disaster, yet the historical record does not establish how many of their remains remained at the wreck site. The figure of 35 to 42 represents the number of lives lost, not a confirmed count of bodies still underwater. After more than 150 years, the final fate of individual victims remains uncertain.
SS Sevona: 7 Crew Members Lost in 1905
The SS Sevona sank near the Apostle Islands during a powerful storm on September 2, 1905. The 300-foot steel freighter was carrying iron ore when it struck a reef northeast of Sand Island and began breaking apart. Most of the crew escaped in lifeboats, but seven crew members drowned as the ship went down in the storm.
The search for the missing crew members continued in the days following the sinking. Bodies were recovered in the days after the disaster, providing a documented record of victims being found after the wreck went down. The wreck itself remained in Lake Superior and was later partly removed, with portions of the lower hull still remaining at the site.
All seven crew members who drowned were ultimately accounted for through the recovery of their remains. The Sevona therefore does not provide evidence of seven bodies still lying at the bottom of Lake Superior, although the wreck itself remains an important part of the lake’s maritime history.
SS Pretoria: 5 People Lost in the 1905 Storm
The SS Pretoria sank near Outer Island during the same powerful Lake Superior storm that destroyed the Sevona on September 2, 1905. The schooner-barge was being towed when its steering gear failed and the towline broke, leaving the vessel at the mercy of the storm. Captain Charles Smart and nine crew members abandoned the ship in a lifeboat, but a large wave capsized the boat as they approached Outer Island. Five men drowned, while the captain and four other crew members were rescued by the island’s lighthouse keeper.
The search for the five missing men continued after the survivors reached shore. The lighthouse keeper and others initially searched the beach without finding the bodies. In the following days, however, the bodies of all five men washed ashore on Outer Island and were recovered.
All five men who drowned were eventually recovered from the shoreline, so their deaths should not be counted as five confirmed bodies remaining underwater. The wreck itself settled in about 52 feet of water, and parts of the vessel were later salvaged, including its cargo and equipment.
SS Monarch: 1 Crew Member Lost in 1906
The SS Monarch ran into trouble near Passage Island in Lake Superior in December 1906 after striking rocks during a winter storm. The vessel’s passengers and crew were eventually able to reach safety on the rocks, but the wreck became more dangerous as the ship began to break apart and sink. During the confusion, 18-year-old watchman Joseph Jacques fell into the lake and drowned.
Jacques’ remains were never recovered. Contemporary accounts differ slightly on the exact circumstances of his fall, but the National Park Service records that no trace of him was ever found. Because his body was never recovered, the historical record does not establish where his remains ultimately came to rest.
The Monarch is a smaller loss-of-life event than some of Lake Superior’s major shipwreck disasters, but it provides another documented case of a person who died in the lake and whose remains were never recovered. His death therefore cannot be converted into a confirmed count of a body still lying at the wreck site or elsewhere on the lake bottom.
Lucerne: 9 Crew Members Lost in 1886
The Lucerne sank near Long Island in Lake Superior on November 16, 1886, during a severe storm. The nearly 195-foot schooner had left Ashland carrying iron ore when Captain George Lloyd turned back toward Chequamegon Bay to escape the worsening weather. The vessel anchored near Long Island but was driven onto the shore by heavy seas and eventually battered apart. Nine crew members were aboard, and the disaster left no known survivors.
When the wreck was discovered several days later, the lighthouse keeper found three frozen bodies still lashed to the rigging. Two more bodies later washed ashore, meaning that five of the nine victims were eventually recovered. The remaining four crew members were never accounted for. Much of the Lucerne’s hull remains at the wreck site today.
The Lucerne shows why the number of people lost in a shipwreck cannot be treated as the number of bodies still at the bottom of Lake Superior. Five victims were recovered, while the final location of the other four remains unknown. The historical record does not establish what ultimately happened to those four victims.
How Many Bodies Are Still in Lake Superior?
There is no reliable way to determine exactly how many human bodies remain at the bottom of Lake Superior. The documented shipwrecks discussed in this article alone account for more than 100 lives lost, but that figure is not a body count. In several disasters, victims were recovered from the water or shoreline, while in others, people were never found.
The Edmund Fitzgerald lost all 29 crew members, but no bodies were recovered. The Kamloops lost 22 people, with nine bodies recovered, while human remains were later discovered at the Emperor wreck. Other disasters show the same uncertainty: some victims were recovered, while the final location of others remains unknown.
The total number of bodies in Lake Superior therefore cannot be established from historical shipwreck records. Hundreds of wrecks are scattered across the lake, including vessels that have never been discovered, and historical accounts do not always record what happened to every victim. Some human remains are known to have remained associated with wrecks, while the final location of many others is uncertain.
The most accurate answer is that more than 100 people died in the documented disasters covered here, but there is no confirmed number of bodies still remaining beneath Lake Superior.