Plane Crash Victim Found In Michigan Lake After Disappearing 17 Years Ago

A family got some clousre after a loved one went missing over 17 years ago.

In August 2007, a Socata TB-20 Trinidad plane crashed in Lake Huron, carrying 52-year-old pilot Karen Dodds and her fiancé, 56-year-old H. Brooke Stauffer Jr.

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The plane left from Mackinac Island, bound for Bad Axe, Michigan, when it disappeared from radar.

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Despite an extensive search, only Dodds' body was recovered two months later near the Mackinac Bridge.

The wreckage and Stauffer's remains remained elusive for nearly 17 years.

Plane Crash Victim Found In Michigan Lake After Disappearing 17 Years Ago

In October 2023, at the request of the victims' families, a private recovery team called Great Lakes Search & Recovery resumed the search efforts.

Their persistence paid off in August 2024, when they discovered the missing plane's wreckage near Bois Blanc Island.

State police divers subsequently found skeletal remains within the debris, which were later confirmed through dental records to be those of H. Brooke Stauffer Jr.

This discovery brought closure to the long-standing mystery and the fears of Stauffer's family.

The Michigan State Police acknowledged the vital role played by the recovery team in bringing this long-standing mystery to an end.

Michigan's Great Lakes are home to many shipwrecks including these that you can actually see with google earth.