MSP: Wreckage from 2007 plane crash, skeletal remains found in Lake Huron

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan State Police have confirmed that wreckage found weeks ago near the Straits of Mackinac is a plane that was presumed to have crashed 17 years ago.

The small plane was believed to have crashed into Lake Huron in August 2007 while flying from Bad Axe to Mackinac Island. The pilot, a 52-year-old woman, and her passenger, a 56-year-old man, were both from Washington, D.C.

The pilot’s body was found two months later near the Mackinac Bridge, but the passenger and the plane wreckage were never found. According to MSP, a private company called Great Lakes Search & Recovery resumed the search efforts after being contacted by family members last year.

Earlier this month, the search team found what is now confirmed to be the plane wreckage near Bois Blanc Island. The skeletal remains of the passenger were also found inside.

The discovery was reported to MSP and the department’s Marine Services Team went to the site and collected evidence to confirm the finding. Northern Michigan University’s Center for Forensic Anthropology used dental records to confirm the skeletal remains found at the site belonged to the passenger.

MSP credited the work done by Great Lakes Search & Recovery “to help bring closure to the victims’ families.”

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