Gerald Balmer Missing Person Case

Mar 17, 2020

Jun 27, 2024

Gerald

Balmer

82

61

73 inches

200 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

On a rainy and windy day in September 2004, 61-year-old Gerald "Jerry" Balmer, along with three friends, embarked on what was meant to be an exciting fishing excursion in the Alaskan wilderness. The group of tourists from California and Washington departed from Sitka, Alaska, aboard a chartered de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, operated by Harris Aircraft Services. The men—Gerald Balmer of Auburn, California; Lloyd "Dick" Koenig of Pleasanton, California; and twin brothers Jim and Joe Murphy from Sequim and Bremerton, Washington, respectively—were heading to the Baranof Warm Springs Lodge on the east side of Baranof Island. Piloting their aircraft was 25-year-old Eric Johnson of Sitka. Due to the inclement weather, their plane, the second of three carrying their larger party, took a longer, circuitous route around the northern part of the island instead of the more direct path across the mountainous terrain. The first plane in their party had landed safely at the lodge, but the aircraft carrying Balmer and the four other men never arrived. An extensive search was launched by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Civil Air Patrol, and civilian volunteers. Despite the plane being equipped with an emergency locator transmitter, no signal was ever detected. Search and rescue teams scoured the area between Sitka and Warm Springs Bay for nine days, focusing on regions where unconfirmed sounds of a low-flying aircraft and an unusual loud noise were reported on the day of the disappearance. The challenging terrain of Baranof Island, with its mountains reaching over 5,000 feet, combined with the poor weather conditions, hampered search efforts. After an exhaustive but fruitless search, the U.S. Coast Guard made the difficult decision to suspend the official search. Weeks after the official search was called off, small pieces of the floatplane were discovered along a rugged stretch of coastline, in an area that had been searched multiple times before. This discovery confirmed the tragic fate of the aircraft and those aboard. The disappearance of Gerald Balmer and the four other men is a heartbreaking reminder of the unforgiving nature of the Alaskan wilderness and the inherent risks of aviation in such a remote and rugged environment. Despite the eventual discovery of wreckage, the exact circumstances of the crash remain unknown. The case stands as a somber event in Alaska's aviation history, a story of a much-anticipated adventure that ended in a profound and lasting loss for five families.

Sep 20, 2004

Juneau

Alaska

Juneau Borough

No

77738

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

040075523

2004-09-21

Alaska State Troopers

8593

Brown

Blue

Blue

07/10/2026