Kathleen's update on her visit to Bois Blanc Island

Dear All,

Basically, there is no news on Karen and Brooke. We drove up to Cheboygan on Wednesday and took the 8 am ferry the next day over to Bois Blanc Island. I was appalled at the expanse of water between the Island and the mainland. I didn't realize until I was looking at it what a very large area there was to search. To give you a better idea: it takes the ferry 45 minutes to cross from downtown Cheboygan to the marina on the Island.

We were met at the boat landing by the couple who first heard the explosion from the plane. His feeling about the sound was that the plane exploded in air. I talked with George (other owner) about this and he says that there is no history of in-air explosions with this plane, but he will research that. Also, I thought an explosion might have occurred when Karen switched fuel tanks in mid-flight, and a spark ignited the fuel. George says she was supposed to switch tanks on landing, and if not then, before she took off again. He does not buy the in-air explosion idea.

While we were on the island, the Michigan State Police were searching the area. Their staging area was at the Mackinac City Marina. In the photo, you will see about eight SUVs, two boat trailers and there also was a covered trailer carrying their diving gear. We could just barely see the two boats from the home of the observer.

On our return to the mainland, on Friday morning we went over to the Cheboygan State Police post. The debris that has washed up is being collected there. Thursday morning, the back seat of the plane washed up. It is a bench seat, about three feet wide. George says that seat is not attached to the plane, it just sits on the floor behind the pilot and copilot seats. Another seat also washed up. From pictures of the Trinidad on the web, it appears to me it is a seat, not a seat-back. We were told it has an 'R' on it, so it may be the right-hand seat. Also in the collection were some personal items of Karen's, including a bra and a pair of shoes. There also was a flip-flop that looked as if it could be Brooke's. And the rest of the debris was the window/door frames we have seen on the blog. I was not allowed to take a photo of the pile of debris.

I am attaching photos, and I left them large so you can see the detail. If anyone has a problem with the size of this email, let me know and I will send the photos in smaller groups.

1. A view of the east end of Bois Blanc Island from Point Nipigon on the mainland, just east of Cheboygan.
2. The police staging area at Mackinac City marina.
3. One State Police search boat searching the area.
4. Two search boats in the area.

It has been suggested to us by one of the divers that the Dive Commander in Lansing has to make the decision as to whether the search will continue this week. I have a call in to him to find out what the status actually is. It has also been suggested to us that if he is going to downgrade the search, we should call our Michigan congressperson. So as soon as I get the status I will move forward.

I'll keep you all posted when there's more news.

Love,
Kathleen