Mason McLeod Missing Person Case

Oct 21, 2016

Jul 18, 2024

Mason

McLeod

41

26

71 inches

150 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

On August 21, 2010, Mason Scott McLeod, a 26-year-old male, vanished in the vast wilderness of Katmai National Park, Alaska. He was a National Park Service maintenance employee and was traveling with two colleagues, brothers Neal and Seth Spradlin, and pilot Marco Alletto. The group was aboard a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, operated by Branch River Air Service, returning from Swikshak Bay to Brooks Camp after preparing an old ranger station for reconstruction. The plane departed from Swikshak Lagoon around 1:45 p.m. but never reached its intended destination. A second plane that departed fifteen minutes later arrived safely but reported encountering deteriorating weather conditions, forcing it to fly at a low altitude. A massive search and rescue operation was launched immediately after the aircraft was reported overdue. The U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, the Coast Guard, and the National Park Service scoured the rugged terrain between King Salmon and the park's Pacific coast. Over the following weeks, search efforts covered more than 60,000 air miles, involving numerous aircraft, yet no sign of the plane or its occupants was found. The official search was significantly scaled back on September 4, 2010, after yielding no results. The families and friends of the missing men held onto hope, but the vast and unforgiving Alaskan wilderness held its secrets tightly. More than a month after the plane's disappearance, on September 28, 2010, a helicopter pilot spotted debris on a remote beach about 28 miles northeast of the departure lagoon. The wreckage, including a piece of the tail with identifying numbers, was confirmed to be from the missing de Havilland Beaver. Tragically, there was no indication of any survivors. Investigators also found a tent and a duffel bag that showed signs of exposure to a high-temperature environment, suggesting a possible fire, though it could not be determined if it occurred in-flight. Despite sonar searches of the nearby ocean, the majority of the wreckage was never located. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the incident, but due to the limited evidence, the exact cause of the crash that claimed the lives of Mason McLeod and the three other men on board remains undetermined.

Aug 21, 2010

Katmai National Park

Alaska

Kodiak Island Borough

No

25299

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

100079844

2010-08-22

Alaska State Troopers

Red/Auburn

Brown

Brown

No

07/13/2026