Richard Phillips Missing Person Case

Mar 08, 2011

Jun 05, 2020

Richard

Phillips

78

32

70 inches

195 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the autumn of 1979, a heart-wrenching mystery began to unfold that would leave a family with decades of unanswered questions. On November 5th, 32-year-old Richard Phillips, a resident of Batavia, New York, vanished under deeply concerning circumstances. He was a passenger in a small, four-passenger airplane, accompanied by two other men, Albert Zeitler and the pilot, Michael Pfaff. The group's journey that day took a tragic and unforeseen turn, setting the stage for a prolonged and agonizing search for answers. Their intended destination and the purpose of their flight remain part of the broader enigma that surrounds this case. The last known communication from the aircraft occurred at approximately 1:43 PM, when the pilot, Michael Pfaff, sent out a distress signal. It is believed that the plane encountered severe difficulties, leading to a presumed crash into the vast and unforgiving waters of Lake Ontario. Despite the immediate launch of search and rescue operations, no trace of the aircraft or its three occupants was ever discovered. The immense size and depth of Lake Ontario presented a formidable challenge to search teams, complicating any chance of recovery and leaving the families of the missing men in a painful state of limbo, grappling with the unknown fate of their loved ones. The disappearance of Richard Phillips, along with Albert Zeitler and Michael Pfaff, is a somber tale of a journey that ended in tragedy and mystery. The prevailing theory is that the small plane they were in crashed into Lake Ontario, a belief substantiated by the pilot's final distress call. The absence of wreckage or any physical evidence has made it impossible for investigators to determine the exact cause of the crash, leaving open the harrowing possibilities of a mechanical failure, sudden severe weather, or other catastrophic event. For the families, the lack of closure has meant enduring decades of grief and uncertainty. The case serves as a poignant reminder of the power of nature and the fragility of life, a story of three men who embarked on a flight and vanished, leaving behind a legacy of unanswered questions over the deep waters of the lake.

Nov 05, 1979

Batavia

New York

Genesee County

9771

New York State Police - Batavia

Batavia

New York

Genesee County

14020

Brian Howard

Senior Investigator

Troop A Headquarters, New York

5853446223

State

Law Enforcement

AHQT8485

New York State Police - Batavia

Brown

Brown

Brown

09/02/2026