A news story about Albert de Winton, the Hollywood actor who, in 1933, had vowed to find Fawcett dead or alive. From “Deep in the Fearful Amazon Jungle, Savages Seize Movie Actor Seeking to Rescue Fawcett,” Washington Post, September 30, 1934
(Below) Brian Fawcett, who had been left behind on the 1925 expedition, was eventually drawn into the jungle himself. Bettmann/Corbis
(Above) The Brazilian journalist Edmar Morel with Dulipé-the “White God of the Xingu”-who, in the 1940s, became a central figure in the Fawcett mystery. From “The Strange Case of Colonel Fawcett,” Life, April 30, 1951
In 1951 Orlando Villas Boas, the revered Brazilian pioneer, thought that he had found proof of Fawcett's fate. Photo by Edward A. Gourley, reproduced with permission from Douglas A. Gourley
The Kalapalo Indians-including these, photographed by a missionary in 1937-were believed to know what really happened to Fawcett and his party. Courtesy of the Royal Geographical Society (Below) James Lynch and his sixteen-year-old son, James, Jr., set out into the jungle in 1996, in the hopes of finally solving the Fawcett mystery. Courtesy of James Lynch
(Below) James Lynch and his sixteen-year-old son, James, Jr., set out into the jungle in 1996, in the hopes of finally solving the Fawcett mystery. Courtesy of James Lynch
Paolo Pinage (left), who guided the author into the Amazon, rests in the house of a Bakairí Indian during our trip. Courtesy of Paolo Pinage
The author (front) treks with Bakairí Indians through the jungle along the same route that Fawcett followed eighty years earlier. Courtesy of Paolo Pinage
Two Kuikuro Indians dance in celebration of the “whirlwind” spirit. Courtesy of Michael Heckenberger
Kuikuro Indians participate in one of their most sacred rituals, the Kuarup, which honors the dead. Courtesy of Michael Heckenberger
The archaeologist Michael Heckenberger chats with Afukaká, the chief of the Kuikuro Indians. Courtesy of Michael Heckenberger
An aerial shot of the Kuikuro settlement with its circular plaza and domed houses along the perimeter. Courtesy of Michael Heckenberger
David Grann
