Joseph Taylor Beatty, a 48-year-old pilot from Orlando, was last seen on December 3, 1997, while flying a single-engine Beechcraft G35 Bonanza with a 37-year-old passenger, Kevin Williams. Beatty had amputated fingers on his left hand and wore prescription glasses. The aircraft refueled in Crestview, Florida and later sent a distress call while encountering bad weather near Gulfport, Mississippi.

A four-day Coast Guard search turned up no trace of the plane or its occupants. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, which remains unresolved and the circumstances of the flight are unclear.

If anyone has information about Beatty, the flight’s route, or sightings near Gulfport on December 3, 1997, please come forward.