Flight and Mission
On October 17, 1958, a Beaver aircraft operated by the United States Air Force departed from Grande Prairie, Alberta, en route to Edmonton for a routine maintenance inspection. The crew consisted of Capt. William Varns, Capt. Walter Brown, Lt. Lawrence Anderson, and Sgt. Jackie Herth, all from the 919th Squadron, Saskatoon Mountain Air Squadron, based in Beaverlodge, Alberta.
During the flight, the mission was diverted to search for two hunters reported missing in the area of Nose Mountain, south of Grande Prairie. The crew located the hunters and radioed that they were descending to drop a note to them. This was the last communication received from the aircraft.
Search and Rescue
After the Beaver failed to arrive, a civilian aircraft carrying a USAF sergeant was dispatched from Grande Prairie to search. The civilian plane located the crash site but had no radio, so it returned to Grande Prairie to report the location.
An RCAF Search and Rescue aircraft from Namao, Alberta, was subsequently dispatched. Upon locating the crash site, the crew radioed the coordinates and continued to circle overhead until an RCAF helicopter from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, arrived at the scene.
The helicopter evacuated the injured crew members and radioed back that one of the men did not survive. The survivors were airlifted to Grande Prairie and then transported by ambulance to the hospital in Beaverlodge. The helicopter returned the next day to recover the body of Capt. William Varns. The two hunters stayed overnight at the crash site and were airlifted out the following morning; they were commended for assisting the injured airmen.
Aftermath
The airframe of the Beaver was buried at the crash site.