Authorities are continuing their search for missing pilot Michael Arthur Bratlie and his white twin engine Piper PA31, a red and blue striped Navajo plane that disappeared on Friday, June 8.
Bratlie, age 67, of Lakeville, Minnesota, had told his family he was flying from Fleming Field in South Saint Paul to Duluth and back again that day. When he didn’t return home his family called the Federal Aviation Administration and asked for help in locating him. He was last heard from Friday night when a trace of his cell phone indicated he was northeast of Silver Bay. That was also the last time his plane was spotted on radar.
Bratlie is a former Navy and retired Northwest Airlines pilot with thousands of hours of flying time, so why he was off course is a mystery.
Minnesota’s Civil Air Patrol said more than 60 volunteers have been searching in Cook and Lake counties while nine aircraft and several U.S. Coast Guard boats have scoured Lake Superior and the surrounding countryside in an effort to find the missing plane and pilot.
Also assisting have been Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fire spotting planes and U.S. Border Patrol personal.
Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk said that so far there have been no leads in the case.
Lieutenant Col. Paul Hertel said the Minnesota Civil Air Patrol would continue looking for Bratlie at least through Friday, June 22. Volunteers have also come from Wisconsin and Iowa to help with the search, said Hertel.
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