On May 18, 1988, a Piper PA32, tail number N8978, departed Anchorage for McGrath carrying 40-year-old William Bill Newman, 37-year-old Christopher Bailey and 33-year-old Jerry Melin. The aircraft never arrived in McGrath and a search followed. Rescuers later located the wreckage on the slopes of Mount Gerdine at about 8,700 feet elevation, in extremely remote, high-altitude terrain west of Anchorage.

Because the site was so inaccessible and the mountain conditions hazardous, authorities concluded that recovery of the occupants was not feasible. Newman, Bailey and Melin were never recovered and remain missing on the mountain.

Does anyone have memories of that flight, the route, or knowledge of search efforts in the Mount Gerdine area that could shed more light on what happened?