A NMAC OCCURRED IN IMC WHEN A BONANZA FLEW INTO THE CLOUDS TAKING OFF FROM AN UNCTLED ARPT WITHOUT AN IFR CLRNC.

Narrative

WE WERE SHOOTING A VOR APCH TO CIRCLING MINIMUMS (722 FT AGL) AT THE 55D ARPT AT XA00Z. WE HAD NO GND CONTACT AT THE MISSED APCH POINT AND STARTED EXECUTING THE MISSED APCH -- A CLBING R TURN IN THE HOLDING PATTERN. IN THE CLB; IN SOLID IMC; A TCASII TARGET SHOWED UP TO OUR R AND WITHIN 100 FT OF OUR ALT. WHEN OUR TARGETS NEARLY MERGED AT THE SAME ALT; WE TOOK EVASIVE ACTION TO THE L OUT OF THE HOLDING PATTERN. JUST THEN; THE PLT OF THE BONANZA WHICH HAD JUST DEPARTED THE ARPT CAME ON CTR FREQ ASKING TO PICK UP HIS CLRNC. WE ARE WAITING FOR THE CTR TO PROVIDE US WITH THEIR RADAR INFO; BUT THEY HAVE BEEN VERY SLOW IN RESPONDING. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: THE RPTR SAID HE WAS THE CORPORATE CAPT OF A SABRE 65 TRYING TO BRING HIS BOSS INTO GRAYLING VIA THE VOR APCH. AT MINIMUMS HE COULD NOT SEE THE GND AND WAS MAKING THE MISSED APCH WHEN HIS TCASII ON HIS VERT SPD INDICATOR SHOWED TFC THAT HE WAS TURNING TOWARD. THE RPTR'S BOSS WAS IN THE R SEAT WATCHING AS THE RPTR BROKE OUT OF THE HOLDING PATTERN TO AVOID THE TFC ON TCASII. THE CTR RADAR CONFIRMED A PRIMARY TARGET BUT CTR PERSONNEL DISMISSED THE EVENT SAYING THE BONANZA WAS PROBABLY VMC. THE SABRE TCASII COULD READ THE ALT OF THE BONANZA LEVEL AND IN THE CLOUDS. THE CTR DID NOT CARE TO PURSUE THE ISSUE. THE RPTR WAS AT ONE TIME A CTLR AT ZOB BEFORE BECOMING A CORPORATE CAPT. IT WAS A MONDAY OF A HOLIDAY WEEKEND AND UNEXPECTED WX HAD GNDED A LARGE GROUP AT GRAYLING. THIS BONANZA PLT JUST BUSTED OUT OF HIS UNCTLED ARPT PERHAPS THINKING HE WAS IN CLASS G AIRSPACE AND AS SUCH COULD FLY INTO THE WX WITHOUT A CLRNC ONLY TO PICK UP THE CLRNC BEFORE GOING INTO CLASS E AIRSPACE. HE MAY NOT HAVE REALIZED HE WAS IN CLASS E AIRSPACE. THE ARPT FACILITY DIRECTORY DOES NOT STATE WHAT THE AIRSPACE IS WHEN THE TWR IS CLOSED. PERHAPS THAT IS WHY ZMP WAS NOT CONCERNED.