Missing Plane, Remains Discovered After 17 Years

A missing plane wreck and remains have been found in Lake Huron after 17 years, shedding light on a long-standing mystery.

At a Glance

A small plane that crashed in Michigan’s Lake Huron 17 years ago was discovered.
The remains of a long-missing passenger, H. Brooke Stauffer Jr., were found.
Stauffer was from Washington, D.C., and a prolific writer.
The crash occurred on August 24, 2007, shortly after taking off from Mackinac Island.

Missing Plane Found in Lake Huron

A small plane that crashed in Michigan’s Lake Huron 17 years ago was discovered recently. The plane, a Socata TB-20 Trinidad, went down on August 24, 2007, shortly after taking off from Mackinac Island for Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. It carried H. Brooke Stauffer Jr. and his fiancée Karen Dodds, both residents of Washington, D.C.

The plane wreckage was discovered near Bois Blanc Island in August 2024 by Great Lakes Search & Recovery. This private company resumed search efforts in October 2023 at the request of family members. State police divers investigating the wreckage found skeletal remains, confirmed as Stauffer’s by the Center for Forensic Anthropology at Northern Michigan University using dental records.

Missing plane, human remains found in Lake Huron 17 years after crash https://t.co/VylnO0v9Rm

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 29, 2024

A Prominent Passenger

H. Brooke Stauffer Jr., 56, was a respected figure in Washington, D.C. He served as the director of standards and safety for the National Electrical Contractors Association and was a prolific writer. “He was a prolific writer, and the author of several technical books, numerous magazine articles, a children’s novel and a guidebook for Washington, D.C.,” states his obituary.

He is survived by his daughter Hilary and sons Christian and Gregory.

The Discovery

Great Lakes Search & Recovery’s efforts were instrumental in bringing closure to the mystery of the missing plane. Dodds, 52, owned Dodds Design, a graphic web design and marketing company in Washington. Her remains were discovered two months after the crash, but the plane and Stauffer went missing. The crash initially occurred due to unknown reasons, mere moments after takeoff. Various technological advancements and renewed search initiatives finally led to the poignant discovery near Bois Blanc Island.