Robert Ransom Williams III, also known as Robert Ransom ’Randy’ Williams, was a business passenger aboard a private Rockwell/Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander, registration N400CP, that disappeared after leaving Burlington, Vermont, on January 27, 1971. The ten-seat aircraft carried two crew and three employees of the Georgia-based Cousins Property company on a business trip to Providence; radar contact was lost a few minutes after departure over Lake Champlain in winter conditions, and the lake froze days later.

Initial searches found little wreckage and a May 1971 underwater search did not locate the main wreck. Debris was reportedly seen on Shelburne Point when the ice melted in spring 1971. For decades the men’s remains were not found and the incident remained an unsolved aviation mystery tied to Lake Champlain.

If anyone knew Robert Williams, the others on that flight, or has information about the aircraft’s last movements over Lake Champlain, please share what is known.