Martin Coughlin Missing Person Case

Mar 17, 2020

Jan 12, 2024

Martin

Coughlin

80

53

69 inches

165 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

On October 3, 1998, 53-year-old Martin Raymond Coughlin departed from his summer home in Haines, Alaska, embarking on a flight to Seattle, Washington. He was the sole occupant and pilot of his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, with the tail number N4479D. At the time of his departure, Mr. Coughlin was described as being 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing approximately 165 pounds, with blond or strawberry-colored hair and hazel eyes. He was believed to be wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt of an unknown color. His journey began without a filed flight plan, a detail that would later complicate the search for him and his aircraft. The initial leg of his flight seems to have proceeded without any reported incident. There was a potential sighting of a V-tailed Beechcraft Bonanza, similar to Mr. Coughlin's, at the Petersburg, Alaska, airport around 2:00 PM on the day of his departure. A fuel attendant noted that a single individual exited the plane, which had wingtip tanks and was white in color, but no fuel was purchased, and the plane's identity was never confirmed. After this point, there were no further communications received from Martin Coughlin. Concern for his welfare grew when he failed to arrive at his intended destination. Ten days after he left Haines, on October 13, 1998, his family reported him overdue to the Alaska State Troopers, who then initiated an investigation. The search for Martin Coughlin and his aircraft was extensive, coordinated by the U.S. Coast Guard and spanning from Alaska through Canada and into the Port Angeles area of Washington. A significant breakthrough in the case came on October 4, 1998, the day after his departure, when a wing-mounted auxiliary fuel tank was discovered floating in the Juan de Fuca Strait, near Chito Beach in Clallam Bay, Washington. It wasn't until after he was reported missing that this finding was connected to his case, with family members positively identifying the tank as belonging to his plane. Tragically, no other parts of the aircraft have been located, and Martin Coughlin has never been found. The prevailing theory held by investigators is that his plane crashed into the strait, and he is presumed to have drowned. The circumstances leading to the crash remain unknown, though weather data from the area on the day of the accident indicated widespread rain showers. The case remains an open missing person investigation, a painful and unresolved chapter for those who knew and loved Martin Coughlin.

Oct 03, 1998

Juneau

Alaska

Juneau Borough

No

77942

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

980068536

1998-10-13

Alaska State Troopers

8765

Blond/Strawberry

Hazel

Hazel

07/16/2026