James Edwin Murphy, 64, known as Jim, vanished on September 20, 2004, when a gray single-engine Piper Lance carrying him, his brother Joseph Murphy Jr., Erik Johnson, Lloyd Koenig and pilot Gerald Balmer disappeared in the vicinity of Baranof Island while flying from a remote Forest Service cabin at Turner Lake toward Sitka. The pilot’s last transmission reported poor visibility before the plane vanished from radar.

A large multiagency search involving the Alaska State Troopers, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Civil Air Patrol scoured the dense forests, mountains and fjords for weeks, often hindered by low clouds and fog. Despite exhaustive efforts, no wreckage, debris or sign of the aircraft or the five men was ever found, leaving the circumstances of the disappearance unresolved.

If anyone had information about the flight, the route over Baranof Island, or sightings around September 20, 2004, please share what is known.