Martin Raymond Coughlin, 53, disappeared after departing his summer home in Haines, Alaska, on October 3, 1998. He was sole pilot and occupant of a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, tail number N4479D, bound for Seattle. He was described as 5 feet 9 inches, about 165 pounds, with blond or strawberry-colored hair and hazel eyes, and believed to be wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt.

A possible sighting of a V-tailed Beechcraft at Petersburg airport around 2:00 PM that day was never confirmed. No flight plan had been filed, and after that point there were no further communications from Coughlin. A wing-mounted auxiliary fuel tank later identified by family as belonging to his plane was found floating in the Juan de Fuca Strait near Chito Beach on October 4. No other wreckage or Coughlin himself has been recovered.

Investigators presume the aircraft crashed into the strait and that Coughlin drowned; the exact circumstances remain unknown. Weather reports for the area that day showed widespread rain showers. If anyone has information about Coughlin’s flight, the plane, or sightings along the route, please share what is known.