Justin Winfrey, a 43-year-old business owner from the Bay Area, was last seen on October 23, 2019. On that day, Justin and Kayla Rodriguez, a 27-year-old nurse, took off in Justin's red-and-white single-engine Piper Arrow plane (tail number N4958J) from Novato, California, heading towards Mendocino County. Their last known location was in Shelter Cove on the evening of October 24, 2019. After dining at a local restaurant, the pair departed Shelter Cove around 9 p.m., intending to return to San Francisco. Unfortunately, radar lost contact with their plane shortly after, about five miles off the coast near Fort Bragg and Wheeler, California.
A significant search effort was launched, covering both land and sea, but after two weeks, no trace of the plane, Winfrey, or Rodriguez was found. The difficult terrain and deep waters along California's Lost Coast made the search particularly challenging. Despite the search being suspended, family members and friends of both individuals have continued to seek information, and the case remains unsolved. Both are presumed to have perished in the suspected crash, but their bodies have never been recovered.
Last Seen: Oct 23, 2019
