Guelph man’s plane found decades after death
Posted Jul 26, 2011 03:35:23 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Provincial police have closed the books on a 71-year old missing persons case.
They say a plane found in Lake Muskoka is a Northrop Industries A-17 Nomad #3521 that was involved in a mid-air collision over the lake on December 13, 1940, while searching for another aircraft that went missing the day before.
Police divers have recovered personal effects belonging to the pilot, 24-year old Flight Lieutenant Peter Campbell of the Royal Canadian Air Force and 27-year old observer, Leading Aircraftsman Theodore (Ted) Bates from Guelph, Ontario, Royal Canadian Air Force.
The initial discovery was made last summer by members from the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU) using side-scan sonar technology.
The Coroner’s Office and the OPP are satisfied that their missing persons case has been solved and that it is likely that remains are no longer recoverable.
The Department of National Defence is now conducting its own investigation. The airmen’s personal belongings are currently being treated in Ottawa to assist in their preservation. Once completed, the items will be returned to the next-of-kin who have since been notified of the Nomad’s discovery.
The exact location of the aircraft will remain confidential in the interest of protecting the site.
