Shima Funakoshi was 30 and a pilot for Hageland Aviation Services when she and her mother, Yoshiko Funakoshi, disappeared after an August 2003 flight from Barrow (now Utqiagvik) to Wainwright, Alaska. The 406 Caravan, tail number N6591L, was reported to have crashed into Peard Bay about 10 miles southwest of Barrow. Weather that day included patches of fog, light rain and temperatures in the mid-30s.

Searchers found debris and an oil slick about 10 miles northeast of Wainwright in roughly 75 feet of water, but no bodies or major sections of the aircraft were recovered. The search was suspended the same day and the exact cause of the crash was not determined. Memorials for Shima and Yoshiko include a bench called Shima’s View in Anchorage and a marker near the reported crash coordinates in Utqiaġvik.

If anyone has information about the August 2003 flight or its last known whereabouts, please share what is known.