On November 20, 1969, a Cessna 185 carrying pilot John W. Burton and passengers Edward Flett, 22, and Clifford Dowson left Oxford House bound for Island Lake and never arrived. The pilot made a routine radio call at about 11:00 a.m., saying they were roughly fifteen minutes from landing in Garden Hill; that was the last transmission from the aircraft.

An extensive search turned up no wreckage and no sign of Burton, Flett, or Dowson. Edward Flett was described as slender, 6 feet tall and 165 pounds, born April 27, 1947. The disappearance is officially classified as a suspected accident, with no distress call or physical evidence recovered.

The remote Canadian Shield in northern Manitoba has yielded no clues and the three men’s fates remain unresolved. If anyone has information about this flight or remembers details from that area and time, please share what is known.