On February 9, 2005, a family flight from Anchorage to Port Alsworth ended in disaster near Dillingham when the Cessna 206 piloted by Jeremy Davis encountered a blinding snowstorm and white-out conditions near Lake Clark. The plane descended, crashed onto the frozen lake, broke through the ice and sank into deep, frigid water. Parents Jeremy and Michelle Davis escaped the submerged aircraft; Jeremy cut his own seatbelt and tried but was unable to free his three daughters. Seven-year-old Jesse Lynn Davis and her sisters Samantha, 9, and Katherine, 6, were trapped inside and went down with the plane.

Soaking wet and suffering injuries and hypothermia, the parents made a two-mile walk in blowing snow to find help, eventually finding an empty cabin and using a radio to call for rescue. The plane is believed to have come to rest in water about 500 to 800 feet deep, and it was unclear whether recovering the children’s bodies would be possible. Does anyone have memories of the community response or information about recovery efforts after the crash?