2 Alberta Men Are Missing After Their Plane Vanished Off Radar In Ontario

A search is underway for two missing Alberta men after their plane vanished in northern Ontario last week. The plane is believed to have disappeared somewhere around Sault Ste. Marie, Manitoulin and Wawa, Ontario.

Albertans John Fehr and Brian Slingerland have not been heard from since Thursday, April 14, CBC reported. The pair were in a Piper Comanche plane that was bought by Slingerland in the township of Delhi in southern Ontario.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton has been searching for the plane but said deep snow, forests and hills made for "challenging conditions" in the search.

"Weather continues to hamper search efforts for missing Piper Comanche in northern Ontario. Cloud and rain in search area currently preventing air search," it said.

However, by Friday morning, JRCC said weather conditions had improved, allowing a helicopter to search for the missing aircraft.

Captain Christopher Dube, public affairs officer with the air task force based in Sault Ste. Marie, told CTV they are deploying extra crews as needed.

"Since we had the CP140 Aurora join the team yesterday, they provided further data to go over to establish two points of interest that may warrant more visual search," Dube said.

A GoFundMe page set up by Fehr's brother Isack said that he has six children and a loving wife "anxiously awaiting his return."

On April 18, Isack wrote on the fundraiser page that the latest updates on the search were "not promising" and the rescue team is prepared to "search for weeks if that's what it takes."

"The search and rescue teams are doing everything they can to find the two men as soon as possible. A Hercules from Halifax has been flying all night as well as a plane that has special technology for colour differences on the ground," he said.

Anyone who may have seen the aircraft between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie on April 14 has been asked to call 613-966-1178.