On a September day in 2004, 69-year-old Lloyd 'Dick' Koenig of Pleasanton, California, embarked on what was meant to be an exciting fishing excursion in the Alaskan wilderness. He, along with his friends—twin brothers Jim Murphy, 65, of Sequim, Washington, and Joe Murphy of Bremerton, Washington, and 61-year-old Jerry Balmer of Auburn, California—were part of a larger group heading to the remote Baranof Wilderness Lodge.
The final leg of their journey on September 20th required a short flight from Sitka. Due to the size of their party, they were divided among three separate floatplanes operated by Harris Aircraft Services. Koenig and his three friends boarded the second of these planes, a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, piloted by 25-year-old Eric Johnson of Sitka. The group departed from Sitka at approximately 10:35 a.m. into rainy and blustery conditions, with low clouds obscuring the mountainous terrain of Baranof Island.
The challenging weather forced the pilot to bypass the direct, 20-mile route over the island's peaks and instead take a much longer, circuitous path around the northern half of the island over open water. The first plane in their party had departed about an hour earlier and, after navigating the difficult conditions, landed safely at the lodge located in Warm Springs Bay. However, the Beaver carrying Johnson, Koenig, the Murphy brothers, and Balmer never arrived. When the aircraft became overdue, Harris Aircraft Services alerted the authorities at 1:35 p.m., triggering an extensive search and rescue operation. For nine days, the U.S. Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and pilots from Harris Air scoured the region, covering thousands of miles of rugged shoreline and treacherous inland passes between Sitka and the lodge. The weather, which had been poor on the day of the disappearance, hampered initial efforts.
Despite the intensive search, no trace of the plane, its pilot, or the four passengers was ever found. The aircraft was equipped with an emergency locator transmitter, but no signal was ever detected, leading to speculation it may have been damaged in a crash or that the plane sank in deep water. Searchers investigated a few tips, including a report of a low-flying plane near Emmons Island and another of a loud, unusual noise near Hanus Bay, but these leads did not result in any discoveries. On September 29, 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard officially suspended its search, stating they had exhausted all possible efforts to locate any survivors. Family members, holding onto a sliver of hope, noted that the men were well-equipped with warm clothing and supplies for their trip. The disappearance of the five men stands as a painful reminder of the unforgiving nature of the Alaskan wilderness. The National Transportation Safety Board's report concludes that the airplane is missing and presumed to have crashed, with the pilot and four passengers presumed to have sustained fatal injuries. Without wreckage or any definitive clues, the exact circumstances of the flight's final moments remain unknown, leaving a legacy of unanswered questions for the families of the lost.Last Seen: Sep 20, 2004
