On the evening of December 3, 2007, a LifeGuard Alaska helicopter left Cordova bound for Anchorage with patient 60-year-old Gaye Gardner McDowell aboard, plus pilot Lance Brabham, 42, paramedic Cameron Carter, 24, and flight nurse John Stumpff, 47. The crew failed to make scheduled position checks; last contact came at 5:18 p.m. as they flew near Esther Island in Prince William Sound, about 40 minutes into the planned 90-minute flight.

Severe weather—blowing snow, high winds and low visibility—hampered an immediate search. Wreckage including the helicopter’s left sliding door washed ashore on the north side of Passage Canal near Whittier, and the body of flight nurse John Stumpff was recovered there. After a week without further signs of the other three occupants, the search was called off. The NTSB later concluded the helicopter likely impacted the water after the pilot encountered instrument meteorological conditions while flying at night.

Does anyone have memories of the Cordova or Whittier area that night or information about the flight that could shed light on what happened to Gaye McDowell and the two crew members who were never found?