Overview

Last known date: May 16, 1986
Last known area: McKinnon, Wyoming / Flaming Gorge Reservoir area
Age: 48
Status: Missing; remains have not been publicly reported as recovered
NamUs: MP106331
Doe Network: 6281DMWY

Frank Carl Farnsworth, also identified in records as Frank Carlson Farnsworth, disappeared on May 16, 1986, following a boating accident on Flaming Gorge Reservoir near the Wyoming-Utah state line.

The available case information says Farnsworth was on the reservoir with his brother and two other men when the accident occurred. Extensive searches followed, but Farnsworth was never recovered.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Frank Carl Farnsworth: Missing Since 1986 After Flaming Gorge Reservoir Boating Accident

Brief Case Summary

Last known date: May 16, 1986
Last known area: McKinnon, Wyoming / Flaming Gorge Reservoir area
Age: 48
Status: Missing; remains have not been publicly reported as recovered
NamUs: MP106331
Doe Network: 6281DMWY

Frank Carl Farnsworth, also identified in records as Frank Carlson Farnsworth, disappeared on May 16, 1986, following a boating accident on Flaming Gorge Reservoir near the Wyoming-Utah state line.

The available case information says Farnsworth was on the reservoir with his brother and two other men when the accident occurred. Extensive searches followed, but Farnsworth was never recovered.

The Disappearance of Frank Farnsworth

On May 16, 1986, 48-year-old Frank Farnsworth was in the Flaming Gorge Reservoir area, a massive body of water extending across the Wyoming-Utah border.

Public missing-person records associate his disappearance with McKinnon, Wyoming. According to case information compiled from NamUs and the Doe Network, Farnsworth was involved in a boating accident while accompanied by his brother and two other men.

The publicly available summaries provide few details about exactly what caused the accident, the type of boat involved, weather or water conditions, or what happened to each person aboard.

What is clear is that Farnsworth disappeared during the incident and was not located afterward.

Extensive Searches Failed to Recover Farnsworth

Search efforts were conducted following the boating accident, but Farnsworth’s remains were never recovered.

Flaming Gorge Reservoir presents an enormous search environment. The reservoir extends for many miles through rugged portions of northeastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming, making the disappearance particularly difficult to resolve when a person enters the water and is not recovered during the initial search.

There is no reliable public evidence in the sources reviewed indicating that Farnsworth subsequently resurfaced, was located elsewhere, or deliberately disappeared. The available case descriptions continue to connect his disappearance directly to the boating accident.

Frank Farnsworth’s Brother

Available genealogical records identify Frank Carlson Farnsworth, born in 1938, as a son of LeGrande Turner Farnsworth and Armeda Syrett Farnsworth. Those records identify his older brother as Phillip LeGrande Farnsworth, born in 1936.

Notably, the genealogical record lists both Phillip and Frank as having died in 1986. This is consistent with the missing-person account stating that Frank was involved in the boating accident with his brother. However, the publicly accessible missing-person summaries reviewed for this article do not provide enough official investigative detail to independently establish what happened to every occupant of the boat.

For that reason, details concerning the other men should not be assumed beyond what has been specifically documented.

Why Frank Farnsworth Is Still Listed as Missing

The central unresolved issue is straightforward: Frank Farnsworth was never recovered.

Although the circumstances strongly point toward the boating accident as the reason for his disappearance, the absence of recovered remains means the missing-person case continues to have identification significance decades later.

NamUs lists Farnsworth under case number MP106331, and current missing-person databases continue to carry his case.

His continued inclusion in these databases is particularly important because unidentified remains discovered years or even decades later can potentially be compared with missing-person records using physical characteristics, dental information, DNA, or other forensic evidence when those materials are available.

A New Public Record of the Case in 2024

One of the most significant recent developments was not a recovery, but renewed documentation and visibility.

On August 3, 2024, the Doe Network announced that Frank Carl Farnsworth, case 6281DMWY, had been added to its database as a man missing from Wyoming since 1986.

The addition brought a nearly four-decade-old disappearance into another major publicly searchable missing and unidentified-person resource.

Current Wyoming missing-person compilations also continue to identify Farnsworth as missing and associate his disappearance with May 16, 1986, McKinnon, Wyoming, and the Flaming Gorge Reservoir boating accident.

Latest Publicly Available Investigation Information

As of August 2026, publicly accessible sources reviewed for this case do not report that Frank Farnsworth has been recovered or conclusively identified.

The most recent substantial public case update located during research was the August 3, 2024 addition of Frank Carl Farnsworth to the Doe Network as case 6281DMWY.

A more recent Wyoming missing-person compilation continues to list Farnsworth, his May 16, 1986 disappearance, the boating accident and NamUs case number 106331. CaseTrace likewise currently lists Frank Farnsworth as missing from McKinnon, Wyoming, with May 16, 1986 as his last-seen date.

No credible public source reviewed indicates that investigators have reclassified the disappearance as a homicide. The documented circumstances remain those of a boating accident followed by an unsuccessful recovery effort.

Why the Case Still Matters Four Decades Later

Frank Farnsworth’s case demonstrates an important distinction in long-term missing-person investigations. Investigators may have a strong explanation for how someone disappeared while still being unable to establish their final location through recovery and identification.

In Farnsworth’s case, the known circumstances point to the Flaming Gorge Reservoir accident. But without recovering him, the case cannot obtain the type of physical resolution that would come from locating and positively identifying his remains.

Maintaining Farnsworth’s information in NamUs, the Doe Network and other missing-person resources allows his identity and circumstances to remain available for future comparisons.

Nearly four decades after the accident, Frank Carl Farnsworth remains missing from Wyoming, and the question of where his remains are located has never publicly been answered.