Henry Stauffer Missing Person Case

Mar 20, 2011

Dec 05, 2023

Henry

Stauffer

74

56

74 inches

165 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

On August 24, 2007, Henry "Brooke" Stauffer, a 56-year-old male from Washington D.C., and his fiancée, Karen Dodds, were passengers in a small plane that tragically went down in the Straits of Mackinac. The couple was en route from Mackinac Island to Bad Axe, Michigan, to visit Karen's family. The flight, piloted by Dodds, should have taken approximately two hours, but the aircraft, a Socata TB-20 Trinidad, never reached its destination. In the days following the crash, some debris from the plane was discovered along the shoreline of Bois Blanc Island, confirming the devastating event. An extensive search was launched involving multiple agencies, including the U.S. and Royal Canadian Coast Guards, but the main wreckage of the plane and its occupants remained elusive. A significant development in the case came nearly two months after the incident when the remains of Karen Dodds were found east of the Mackinac Bridge. This discovery brought a painful partial closure to the families, but the whereabouts of Brooke Stauffer and the aircraft itself were still unknown, leaving his loved ones in a prolonged state of uncertainty. For seventeen years, the case remained unresolved until the family requested a private company, Great Lakes Search & Recovery, to resume the search in October 2023. In August 2024, their persistent efforts paid off when the search team discovered the plane's wreckage near Bois Blanc Island, lying 70 feet below the surface of Lake Huron. Michigan State Police divers were then able to investigate the crash site, where they found skeletal remains. Through the use of dental records, the Center for Forensic Anthropology at Northern Michigan University confirmed the remains belonged to Henry Brooke Stauffer. This long-awaited discovery finally provided answers and a sense of closure to Stauffer's family after years of waiting. The cause of the crash that claimed both of their lives remains unknown.

Aug 24, 2007

St. Ignace

Michigan

Mackinac County

St. Ignace

9817

Michigan State Police

St. Ignace

Michigan

Mackinac County

49781

St. Ignace Post, Michigan

9066437582

State

Law Enforcement

www.michigan.gov/msp

83-852-07

2007-08-24

Michigan State Police

Brown

Brown

Brown

Yes

07/06/2026