Day three of the search for missing pilot Richard Martin has passed with no sign of him or his plane. Martin took off from the Dowagiac Municipal Airport on Sunday around 11 a.m. and never returned. The 83-year-old Dowagiac resident was flying a home-built airframe that he often would take for recreational flights on Sundays. The Michigan Wing Civil Air Patrol and other agencies have been searching all over southwest Michigan since early Monday with more than 100 members involved. The CAP’s Lieutenant William VanderMolen spoke with us Tuesday and has a request for the public.
“If anyone recalls seeing a small aircraft that is made of shiny aluminum flying around Sunday after 11 a.m. in the area, contact the Civil Air Patrol or contact local authorities and let them know what you have seen and where you saw it, along with a description of possibly how high it was,” VanderMolen said.
The search has logged nearly 50 hours of flight time. There are also ground searches taking place with crews in vans. They’re looking all over the counties of Van Buren, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, and Allegan, but VanderMolen says tips from the public have helped to refine specific areas.
