Donovan Rodriguez Missing Person Case

Oct 31, 2013

Jul 09, 2019

Donovan

Rodriguez

85

57

68 inches

170 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

On a summer evening, July 3, 1998, 57-year-old Donovan Rodriguez, a respected flight instructor from Northwestern Michigan College, boarded an Aero L-39 Albatros jet. He was the co-pilot for what was intended to be a practice flight for the upcoming National Cherry Festival Air show. At the controls was Don Schaller, the pilot. The two men were the sole occupants of the jet when it departed from Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Michigan, at approximately 6:30 p.m. The flight was expected to be a local one, with no flight plan filed. The weather conditions were described as visual meteorological conditions. Just 17 minutes after takeoff, at 6:47 p.m., the jet vanished from radar screens south of the Fox Islands in Lake Michigan. The disappearance of the L-39 jet triggered an extensive search and rescue operation. The U.S. Coast Guard, along with U.S. Navy and Canadian Forces, scoured an area of approximately 2,300 square nautical miles of Lake Michigan. The search area stretched from Frankfort, Michigan, northward to the southern shoreline of the Upper Peninsula and encompassed numerous islands, including the Manitou, Fox, Beaver, High, and Gull Islands. Despite these efforts, which also included the Blue Angels' C-130 "Fat Albert" and a Canadian transport jet, no wreckage or signs of the two men were found. The official search was suspended on July 4, 1998, at 10:35 p.m. The circumstances surrounding the jet's disappearance remain a mystery. The last radio transmission from the pilot indicated they were 27 miles northeast of the airport and were tracking back towards it. Radar tracked the aircraft making a turn and heading west at 300 miles per hour before contact was lost as it neared South Fox Island. One witness reported hearing a loud boom, similar to fireworks, but did not see a plane. Theories about the cause of the presumed crash have ranged from a bird strike to equipment malfunction, though nothing has ever been confirmed. Later searches using sonar technology have identified potential underwater targets, but due to extreme depths, none have been definitively identified as the missing aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board's final report lists the probable cause as "Undetermined". The case remains an open investigation with the Michigan State Police, and both Donovan Rodriguez and Don Schaller are still considered missing.

Jul 03, 1998

Fox Islands

Michigan

Leelanau County

14462

Michigan State Police - Cadillac Post

Cadillac

Michigan

Wexford County

49601

Mike Fink

D/Sgt.

7711 U.S. 131, Michigan

2317796040

State

Law Enforcement

www.michigan.gov/msp

71-2315-98

1998-07-03

Michigan State Police - Cadillac Post

Brown

Brown

Brown

07/11/2026