On September 20, 2004, a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver floatplane piloted by 25-year-old Erik James Johnson of Sitka departed around 10:35 a.m. on a charter flight to Baranof Warm Springs Lodge with four passengers: twins James and Joseph Murphy, Gerald Balmer, and Lloyd Koenig. Weather that morning was poor, with wind, rain, and low visibility; the pilot had received multiple weather briefings that included warnings of mountain obscuration. Another plane from the same operator had flown earlier and landed safely, but Johnson’s flight never reached its destination roughly 20 miles away across Baranof Island.

A multi-agency search led by the U.S. Coast Guard, with Civil Air Patrol and Harris Air participation, concentrated on likely routes and areas such as Peril Strait and Hanus Bay after reports of a low-flying aircraft. The aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter did not produce a signal, and after ten days of searching in steep mountains, dense forest, and many ocean channels, no wreckage or the five occupants were found. The official search was suspended on September 29, 2004, and the disappearances remain unsolved.

Did anyone in the Sitka or Baranof Island area hear or see anything that morning that might help explain what happened?