Incident Details
On an unspecified date, a pilot and three passengers departed Battle Creek, Michigan, at 1000 hours, en route to Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan. The pilot was receiving VFR advisories from Minneapolis Center and requested a descent north of Traverse City to get below a scattered cloud layer. The descent took the airplane below radar coverage, and VFR services were terminated. The pilot acknowledged setting the transponder to code 1200 and reported being VFR at 1200 feet MSL. This was the last contact with the airplane at 1150 hours.
Attempted Warning and Report
The brother of one of the passengers, whom the group was going to visit, attempted to call them to advise against coming because the island was engulfed by heavy fog, but they had already departed. When the group failed to arrive, he reported the airplane missing at 1700 hours.
Search Efforts
Coordinated search operations found no trace of the airplane or its occupants. The search was extensive but yielded no results.
Discovery of Debris
Three weeks later, a person walking on a beach near Good Hart, Michigan, found an airplane wheel and wheel fairing. These items were identified as belonging to the missing aircraft. Despite this discovery, the airplane and its occupants remain missing.