On November 25, 1999, a small single-engine aircraft carrying three people vanished over the vast, icy waters of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. The pilot, 66-year-old Milton R. John Menzies of Fairford, was a retired Air Canada pilot who regularly flew to northern Manitoba for missionary work. On this particular flight, he was transporting two passengers, 45-year-old Mary Bella Sinclair and her 19-year-old daughter, Katy Lynn Mitchell, from Poplar River to Fairford First Nation. At approximately 10:30 in the morning, Menzies sent out two distress calls, reporting engine failure. In his first call, he indicated he was trying to make an emergency landing on Reindeer Island; however, a second call shortly after confirmed the grim reality that the plane was going down into the water.
Immediate search and rescue operations were launched in the area around Reindeer Island, located near the center of the massive lake.
A Canadian Forces Hercules rescue plane was dispatched from Winnipeg, and two RCMP Twin Otter aircraft that were already in the vicinity responded almost immediately to the distress calls. Despite their swift response and a search that continued for seven hours before the Hercules had to refuel, no signs of the plane or its occupants were found. The search efforts were severely hampered by the presence of a large amount of ice on the lake, which made a water-based search by boat impossible.
In the days that followed, hope for finding any survivors dwindled, and the three individuals were presumed to have perished in the crash, either from the impact or from drowning in the frigid lake waters. The community where Menzies was a dedicated member for over two decades mourned his loss, remembering him for his missionary work which extended to other remote First Nations. Nearly nine months later, in August 2000, a tangible piece of the tragedy surfaced when a jacket belonging to Katy Lynn Mitchell was discovered on the shore of Reindeer Island. This discovery prompted renewed search efforts in the area, including the use of sonar equipment to scan the lakebed. Despite these extensive searches, the plane and the three individuals who were on board have never been recovered. The case remains a somber reminder of the unforgiving nature of the vast northern landscape, a presumed accident that left a lasting void in the lives of the families and communities connected to Milton Menzies, Mary Sinclair, and Katy Mitchell.Last Seen: Nov 25, 1999
