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Jess Rayburn Hopper, who was president of the student council at Grand Rapids Baptist College (now Cornerstone University), had just finished his junior year in 1984 as a speech major. The 23-year-old had been recruited by Ron Busch, his college speech professor, to work at the Winona Lake Bible Conference for the summer along with Hopper’s roommate, Terry Knauss, 23. Busch was executive director of the Winona Lake Christian Assembly at the time.
Hopper had grown up in Strongs, near Sault Ste. Marie, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He was described as a “slender, sandy-haired youth with a quick, curious mind and a fascination for the mysteries of Houdini.” Hopper’s fascination with the world of magic began when he was 5 years old, and by age 8, he was putting on shows for his neighborhood. Later he would perform at small clubs in Sault Ste. Marie, and one summer he performed at the famed long-porch Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.
Like Houdini, he learned how to escape from a straitjacket, hold his breath for long periods of time, pick handcuffs and perform other escape tricks. Knowing that the Fellowship of Christian Magicians were soon coming to Winona Lake for their annual convention, Hopper was practicing his escape trick to perform for the conference. He billed himself as “Rayburn the Great.”
On that Friday, July 6, 1984, Hopper and his roommate, Knauss, shoved off from shore aboard the Winona Queen, a 34-foot pontoon boat with a canvas awning. When they were about 400 feet from shore, with the water at a depth of about 6 feet, they began to practice his underwater escape trick which he planned to perform the following week during the annual meeting of a thousand or more members of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. The trick had worked six or seven times previously, but always in a small pond or swimming pool.
Hopper had Knauss wrap the chains around his torso. His hands were handcuffed behind his back. Then, attired only in a tight blue swimsuit, he jumped overboard. Almost immediately, he knew he had problems.
“I’m in trouble,” he called out when he surfaced. “Bring the boat over.”
But the winds had picked up and Knauss had difficulty maneuvering the boat, according to a coroner’s report. Witnesses saw what was happening and one —Steve Frankowski, a land surveyor — jumped from his truck, stripped down and hurriedly walked/swam to help.
But it was terribly windy, and all efforts failed. Twice the young magician surfaced. Neither time could Frankowski or Knauss reach him. Then the boat passed over Hopper and witnesses said, “We never saw him again.”
When divers found the body four hours later, Hopper’s hands were still handcuffed behind his back, but he had freed himself from the chains around his torso. According to the coroner, the handcuffs were functioning and were not jammed.
More than 300 mourners attended the funeral in Strongs.
Jess Rayburn Hopper, “Rayburn the Great,” was buried on his 24th birthday.
