On October 16, 1972, 58-year-old Thomas Hale Boggs was aboard a twin-engine Cessna 310 that departed Anchorage bound for a fundraiser in Juneau. Also on the flight were Congressman Nick Begich, Begich’s aide Russell L. Brown, and pilot Don Jonz. Weather that day was poor for flying and the aircraft never arrived in Juneau.

A massive search followed: military and civilian aircraft searched for 39 days over a vast area of Alaskan wilderness but found no wreckage or traces of the plane or its four occupants. The search was suspended on November 24, 1972. The National Transportation Safety Board later said it could not determine a probable cause because of insufficient evidence; the official presumption is that the plane crashed and the men died. Both Boggs and Begich were posthumously re-elected in November 1972.

The absence of any physical evidence has left the disappearance unresolved and the subject of ongoing public interest and speculation. If anyone has memories or information about the flight, last-known sightings, or the early search efforts, please share what is known.