James Woodford Johnson, a 60-year-old pilot, vanished after departing St. Lucie County Airport on August 28, 1985. He left Fort Pierce, Florida, aboard a private plane with 24-year-old passenger Patrick DiFrancesco on what was reported to be a trip to retrieve a shipment of marijuana, either from the Bahamas or the Virgin Islands. The pair never returned and no wreckage has ever been found.

Both men were believed to be involved in drug trafficking and reportedly worked for a local man named Howard Crouch, who was later convicted of unrelated cocaine offenses in 1988. Over the years investigators and locals have floated theories of foul play, including that Johnson and DiFrancesco may have been murdered and their bodies concealed near Fort Pierce; an unconfirmed report also placed DiFrancesco in a Jamaican jail.

The disappearance remains unsolved. If anyone knew James Johnson, his flight plans that day, or has information about sightings of the plane or the passenger Patrick DiFrancesco, please come forward.