Plane Crash Documentary - What Happens When a 15-Year Old Pilots a Plane

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: April 15th, 2022

I've taken a liking to plane-crash documentaries lately as a means of passing the time while I am on the treadmill or elliptical. I thought that fans of my blog might like these kinds of documentaries as well for the educational value.

Plane-crash documentaries often include forensic analysis of the factors that cause any kind of malfunction. No expenses are spared in these investigations so they certainly bring a lot to light. I thought that I would highlight the documentaries that I enjoyed the best because I think my readers will have an interest in forensics.

A Youtube account, known as "Wonder", has a good list of documentaries. One documentary titled "Disaster Of Aeroflot Flight 593 After Kid Disables Autopilot | Mayday | Wonder," tells the true story of a flight that went from Moscow bound for Hong Kong. The description of the 50-minute documentary is as follows:

"On 23 March 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593 stalls and crashes while en route to Hong Kong, killing all 75 people on board. The pilot's 15-year-old son accidentally disabled the autopilot while in the captain's seat, causing the aircraft to bank heavily to the right, inducing the stall."

What happened is truly outrageous as a perfectly operatable airplane went from normal to devastated in what appeared to be only a matter of minutes. The Youtube video is embedded below.

Louise N. Zunker - Missing in Wisconsin Since 1976

Paraphrased details from government source**: The missing person, Louise N. Zunker, had a scheduled dentist appointment for August 17th, 1976 in Portage, Wisconsin. Louise's sister, Hilda Zunker, took her to the dentist appointment (ie. disputed: I think they were just planning to go there). They were in the parking lot (possibly of a shopping center) when her sister turned around and Louise was gone. There were reported sightings of Louise walking east on Albert Street in the Mud Lake vicinity several hours after becoming separated from her sister. There has been no known contact with Louise since this time.

Missing Person: Louise Zunker
Last-contact date: August 17th, 1976 (Tuesday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Portage, Wisconsin, possibly walking east on Albert Street in the Mud Lake district of town. 
Link to government source: NamUs MP84012

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 56 years old
Birthdate: Louise Zunker was born between August 18th, 1919, and August 17th, 1920 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Scar: None
Height/weight: 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5 and 125 to 135 pounds
BMI*: Louise Zunker was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Louise Zunker did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.
Find-a-grave: There is a Louise N. Zunker on find-a-grave.com for the Columbia County area of Wisconsin. This person has an unknown date of death. It may reference the same person, however, it's likely a cenotaph memorial and not a final resting place.

Louise Zunker was last heard from on August 17th, 1976 when she was 56 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 45 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

The NamUs description of Louise's circumstances isn't great. It's hard to tell from that source if she disappeared before or after the dentist appointment. According to some journalism I read from 1976, she and her sister Hilda appeared to be on their way to the appointment, presumptively from their shared residence or from a shopping center. One source gave her address as 619 W. Franklin Street while another newspaper article gave her address as 56 Franklin Street. The individual that reported her missing was her brother Albert on August 18th, 1976.

21 Aug 1976, Sat Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

The article below mentions that Louise was despondent at the time of her disappearance. In my view, that increases the chances of a voluntary disappearance or even suicide and decreases the chances of something clandestine happening to her. However, everything appears to be in play. One thing that stood out with this case is the way Louise seemingly just went "poof" into thin air. In picturing the disappearance, I imagined Louise and Hilda walking in stride and then Louise disappearing when Hilda wasn't paying attention to her.

07 Sep 1976, Tue Waukesha Daily Freeman (Waukesha, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

20 Aug 1976, Fri Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

Given the missing person's footwear (ie. low heels), it's hard to picture her planning on walking all that far. I considered the Albert Street sighting and examined the bridges in the area as prospective suicide points. However, none appeared to be of sufficient height. However, Google Maps in the area only went back to 2008. 

The marshy area to the east of Mud Lake could be the focal point. However, if she was planning to kill herself, the method is the question. It would be interesting to learn about her purchases on the shopping trip that she was reportedly on. That they searched the marshy area to the west of the town and did not find her does not mean that she could not still be there. Police searches fail quite often.

This was an individual who was in Ancestry's files with simple searches (ie. first and last name) as she appeared in a few censuses with her original family. She had at least two sisters by my research, one of which is likely the one referenced in the NamUs description as being the last person that knew Louise to see her alive.

Louise's whereabouts were sought for legal matters that developed following the death of her mother in 1977. She was referred to as "deceased" in a 1983 classified ad, which isn't unusual given the circumstances.

25 Jun 1977, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

17 Dec 1977, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

12 Nov 1983, Sat Portage Daily Register (Portage, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

Louise Zunker may have had the following articles when she disappeared: a blue and white square patterned sleeveless dress; a blue/black raincoat, dark-rimmed and tinted glasses, and beige low-heeled shoes.

Furthermore, she was thought to only have 15 cents in her purse. These are items that can be cross-referenced against Jane Does or reports associated with unidentified remains in hopes of finding a reason for further comparison between Zunker and the Jane Doe.

Please, take a moment to share this blog post on social media using hashtags relevant to the missing person's area. Also, please include the website hashtag #MPCSL.

Author: Shane Lambert

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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D.B. Cooper Mystery - YouTube Videos Recount Hijacking Details, Speculates on Identity

By: Shane Lambert

The 50th anniversary of the D.B. Cooper mystery came and went in November of 2021. One of the great "whodunit" mysteries from the last century is from a plane highjacking in 1971.

The FBI has yet to solve the mystery and they don't seem to be too active in cracking this case at this point, one that they closed in 2016. D.B. Cooper, as the individual who hijacked the plane was called, remains the only person to hijack an airplane in the United States of America and not get caught.

Presumed likeness to D.B. Cooper.

If you asked me, the sketch of D.B. Cooper looks a lot like a man who used to be on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list, a man known as Bradford Bishop. But besides likeness and similar ages, there's nothing else to go on, except that Bradford Bishop certainly had the nerve to commit a felony. 

Bradford Bishop. Still wanted by the FBI at the time of writing for five counts of first-degree murder.

Don't get too excited about the remote possibility of Bishop being Cooper. From what I read, Bishop was in Italy in 1971. Also, the case of D.B. Cooper reminds me of the case of Jack the Ripper in one way: that is, so many people have been named as potentially being the unknown criminals that it's hard to take any one of them seriously without something really convincing being laid out first.

A couple thoughts I've had on the D.B. Cooper case have to do with the point in space where Cooper jumped from the plane and the ransom money that was recovered. Regarding the jumping point, I wondered if it was hard to determine because the plane was relatively empty. I will elaborate on this.

Cooper was on a flight from Seattle to Reno when he jumped out of the back of the plane he highjacked. If you are flying from Seattle to Reno with a full load of passengers then you probably will get different flight times compared to flying with a plane-load of passengers because the weight of hundreds of passengers affects the weight of the plane.

I wonder if the plane that Cooper hijacked, which had only him and four crew members, flew a lot faster than a plane that would otherwise have had full occupancy. It only stands to reason that it would and I wondered if this made the point where he jumped harder to pinpoint since flight times along the same route might not have been trustworthy for measuring times.

Cooper Lost Some of His Ransom Money: Proves He Was Under Major Duress

Also, I don't think that Cooper would have parted with his ransom money without one hell of a fight. That he lost $5880, arguably during his fall, could be taken to mean that he was in great duress while he attempted to negotiate a safe parachuting landing, He was up against gravity, the darkness of night, the uncertainty of the elements, and the terrain of his uncertain landing spot.

With 50 years now gone since that night when he highjacked the plane, perhaps this is a crime that will become more for the historian than someone interested in justice. If he survived the fall, he could easily be dead from old age now. 

The Infographics Show did an episode on DB Cooper on September 4th, 2022. Their top suspect is Richard McCoy (Jr.). 

There's another pretty good half-hour upload on Youtube that deals with this mystery embedded below. I watched it tonight and felt like there wasn't much 'fluff' in the program. It comes from LEMMiNO and it was an informative and inquisitive recounting of the events surrounding the highjacking, complete with guesses as to who D.B. Cooper might have been. At the time of writing, the video had over 11 million views and nearly 500 "likes" attesting to decent quality. The video is embedded below and it is recommended viewing for anyone interested in this "true crime" event.

Almedia Carolyn Melcher - Missing from Louisville Since 1964

Paraphrased details from government source**: Almedia Carolyn Melcher disappeared in late 1963/early 1964 shortly after beginning to reconcile with her oldest daughter. A.C. Melcher's last known contact was a call to tell her daughter she was engaged. No one has heard from Almedia since. There was a rumor that she took off with a truck driver.

Missing Person: Almedia Carolyn Melcher

Last-contact date: January 1st, 1964 (this may be a placeholder date, meaning the exact date of disappearance is not known but NamUs needed to enter some data in the empty field)
The area where the MP was last seen: Louisville, Kentucky
Link to government source: NamUs MP#87281

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 43 years old
Birthdate: Almedia Carolyn Melcher was born between January 2nd, 1920, and January 1st, 1921 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact. However, I wondered if she might have been born in 1922.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Unknown
Scar: Unknown
Height/weight: 5-foot-8 and 125-130 pounds
BMI*: Almedia Carolyn Melcher was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Almedia Carolyn Melcher did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.

Almedia Carolyn Melcher was last heard from in late 1963 or early 1964 when she was exactly or close to 43 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 57 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

This wasn't a missing person's case where it was easy to find information. I did not find any news reports of her disappearance. Furthermore, it does not seem as though she disappeared under circumstances that were inherently suspicious.

What I did find was a profile at Ancestry for an individual named Almedia Carolyn Flood. I wondered if this was the missing person's maiden name. However, I could not authenticate AC Flood and NamUs MP#87281 as being the same person.

But there were reasons to believe that they were the same person. Flood had a Louisville address associated with her profile as of 1956. NamUs MP#87281 went missing from Lousiville in later years.

Furthermore, it is stated in Flood's ancestry profile that Vernon Melcher, her husband, died in 1976.  If Flood is NamUs#87281 then the divorce (see the newspaper clipping below) might have been in absentia. The marriage between Almedia Carolyn Flood and Vernon Melcher would have created a name change that matches our missing person, Almedia Carolyn Melcher, if normal conventions were followed. 

Additionally, the individual in the Ancestry profile's pictures resembles the missing person but this is a matter of opinion. Furthermore, Almedia Carolyn Flood had the following information entered for date of death: 

"Death

??? • ????"

An unknown date of death is what you would expect for a missing person. I do think that the Ancestry profile for Almedia Carolyn Flood was for the same person as NamUs #87281 but I am still seeking to authenticate this. I reached out to the person in charge of the Ancestry profile on that matter.

NamUs #MP87281 24 Jan 1969, Fri The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

Yet, the NamUs description, in some ways, is not really consistent with the two profiles being of the same person. There's some marriage-date mismatching information and the year of birth would be off by one year. Perhaps, if I get an affirmative answer more work could be done on this matter.

Author: S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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Barbara Joe Kelley - Missing Since June 1950

Paraphrased details from government source**: On June 18, 1950, Barbara Joe Kelley’s boyfriend Henry Baird was located deceased on the beach at Table Bluff. Kelley’s belongings were located nearby Baird’s remains. Law enforcement and family have been unable to contact Kelley and she remains missing today.

Missing Person: Barbara Joe Kelley ("Barbara Kelly" in journalism)
Last-contact date: June 18th, 1950 (Sunday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Fortuna, California; she was thought to have been at Table Bluff Beach, which was 20 miles south of Eureka, California.
Link to government source: NamUs MP83728


VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 17 years old
Birthdate: Barbara Joe Kelley was born between June 19th, 1932, and June 18th, 1933 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Light-brown hair, according to journalism
Eyes: Hazel, according to journalism
Scar: She had a scar on her left eyebrow.

19 Jun 1950, Mon Los Angeles Evening Citizen News (Hollywood, California) Newspapers.com

Height/weight: 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-7 and 150 to 165 pounds

BMI*: The missing person was overweight by BMI at the time of the last contact based on the upper ranges. Does not appear overweight in her picture.
Tattoos: Barbara Joe Kelley did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles.

By: Shane Lambert

This one sounded like a lover's lane double murder. That could start to evoke bad memories of people like The Zodiac Killer and the Phantom Killer of Texarkana.

Barbara Joe Kelley, a missing person, was last heard from on June 18th, 1950 when she was 17 years old. This individual has now been missing for about 71 years as of the original publication date of this blog post. All research with this individual pointed to death at about the time of her disappearance.

One thing that stood out with this case, is that several newspaper sources spelled her last name as "Kelly." It's not a case of it being a different person as all the case details aligned. Her name was spelled Barbara Kelly or Barbara Kelley so if you are researching this case, then be sure to toggle between spellings for your keyword searches.

The early journalism for this missing person covered the murder of her boyfriend. Kelley's clothes were found near his on a beach 20 miles south of Eureka. It appears that Kelly and Henry Baird, her boyfriend, were at or near a lover's lane beach. The boyfriend was murdered and Kelly has not been seen since June 18th, 1950. That she was apparently naked as she was held captive would strongly suggest that a sex fiend disappeared her.

19 Jun 1950, Mon Long Beach Press-Telegram (Long Beach, California) Newspapers.com
Early guesses (ie. bad guesses) with this missing person had to do with a murder-suicide pact. Baird's gun was missing and it was thought that Kelly may have shot her boyfriend with it and then committed suicide in the ocean. However, the missing gun was considered too light to cause the damage that was caused. A search of the ocean and beaches in the area revealed nothing as to where Barbara may have gone.

In the 1960s, one Gail Patrick Irish emerged as the suspected murderer of both Baird and Kelley/Kelly. He wasn't mentally stable and he confessed. His odd personality will certainly bring into question whether he was telling the truth but from what I gathered in reading about this case, he seemed to be believed.

As for the chances of locating the missing person, I think the following news article, which was published about 13 years after Kelley's disappearance, contains information that needs to be considered. That Kelly was not found where Irish said she would be could be due to reasons covered in the article.

25 Mar 1963, Mon The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California) Newspapers.com

Please share this article to social media using hashtags that are related to where the missing person went missing from, which is Fortuna, California, and the Eureka area.

Author: S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

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Christine Marianne Harron - Missing in Hanover, Ontario Since 1993

Paraphrased details from government source**: On the morning of May 18th, 1993, Christine Harron stayed home from school as she was not feeling well. Around lunchtime, Christine and her mother argued about Christine returning to school for the afternoon. Her mother heard Christine leave the house at about 1:30 pm. Christine did not attend school that afternoon and has not been seen since. The investigation revealed that Christine left the house without her purse, money, or knapsack. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest and conviction of a male regarding the disappearance of Christine Harron, however, she remains missing.

Missing Person: Christine Marianne Harron

Last-contact date: May 18th, 1993 (Tuesday)
The area where the MP was last seen: Hanover, Ontario; it sounded like she disappeared between her residence and John Diefenbaker High School.
Link to government source: Canada's Missing 2010001799

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 15 years old
Birthdate: Christine Marianne Harron was born between May 19th, 1977, and May 18th, 1978 based on her reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Brown, long
Eyes: Blue
Scar: None known
Height/weight: 5'3" and 110 pounds
BMI*: Christine Marianne Harron was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Christine Marianne Harron had no tattoos associated with her profile.

Christine Marianne Harron was last heard from on May 18th, 1993 when she was 15 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 32 years as of early 2025. However, her disappearance is not as clouded in mystery as many other disappearances.

A man named Anthony Edward Ringel pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Harron's case. According to a National Post article from October 2016, he abducted, raped, and murdered the teenage girl before leaving her dead near the Saugeen River. When this river flooded in what I think was 1994 (as communicated by the NP article), the resulting currents and water flow may have moved her body.

Taking everything at face value, this isn't a case that amateurs will be able to help with much. People who go missing in water are often missing until a chance event of a geological nature or even real-estate developmental reveals them. Missing people in flooded areas are often buried underneath a lot of sediment. 

I would say that amateurs probably will not find a clue in this case. However, a news report in the area of human remains being found in association with the Saugeen River or even Lake Huron would be interesting. That said, people who are absolutely known to have fallen into a river often stay missing for decades and decades.

Christine's clothing could be cross-referenced against any Jane Does in the area. She may have had the following articles when she disappeared: a light-blue denim jacket, blue denim pants, black running shoes, and plastic glasses that were brown and had tape.

One interesting takeaway from this case is that the teen disappeared after an argument with her mother. Perhaps, that fueled the idea that Christine had been a runaway. But based on the conviction, it's clear that she met up with a clandestine individual.

There were many alleged sightings of Christine, all of which would be false if the words of Ringel were to be trusted. Given that he received a lengthy sentence for his admissions, it doesn't make sense that he's lying. But that many people reported seeing her even though she is conclusively dead is a point that can be taken away from this case. Unfortunately, sightings of missing people can be pretty frivolous. 

That does bring to mind a lot of cases involving missing people, like Paula Jean Welden. Sightings of missing people that are ambiguous should be taken with a big grain of salt in my view, but never discounted.

Thank you for reading. If have any information about this case, consider contacting the authorities.

Author: Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (Vancouver, Canada) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of April 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.
Disclaimer: Non-opinionated information at this site generally comes from government sources or police reports. Other sources may be used.

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NamUs #UP87267 - Jane Doe's Skull Found in Washington DC in December 2001

By: Shane Lambert

NamUs description: "Construction workers renovating an apartment found a skull in a crawl space of a ground floor apartment located at 1926 I street, NE apt 1."

Sex: Female

Race: Caucasian/White

Age: Thought to be an adult

Height and weight: no estimates, skull only

Date body found: The body has not been found or, if found, I don't think it has been associated with the skull that was found on December 17th, 2001 (Monday)

Where was the skull found: Washington, DC.

With so few details available in this case, this is one that amateur investigators might feel as though they should back away from. How can you hope to name a Jane Doe based only on a skull and sparse demographics?

However, I think this is a case that Websleuths or amateurs might be able to contribute to. Remember, you aren't really trying to solve a case here. As an amateur, you are trying to find a lead that police or professional investigators might take seriously with the hopes that the lead does help solve the case. On that matter, this is what I think amateurs should do: focus on the street address.

A skull can be in a crawlspace for decades. Did someone who lived there end up going missing? Did someone who lived there have a rap sheet for violent crimes?

The address appeared to be a place with up to four apartments. I found the street address in Ancestry files subdivided into Apt. 1, Apt. 2, Apt. 3, and Apt. 4. It's possible that more apartments may have evaded my searching but it appeared to have at least four apartments. The earliest use of the street address I found in Ancestry was for 1983. The earliest use of the apartment's address where the skull was found, Apt. 1, was also for 1983. 

Honestly, I expected to find earlier uses of the address. Also, newspaper reports of the skull's discovery evaded my searching. 

I did look at the street address using Google Maps. The building that is there in 2021 was there in at least 2007 according to the street views from that site. The building is one of those brick buildings that stands the test of time.

I think the building was constructed in 1946. A modern online advertisement I found said that the apartments were built that year. I'm thinking that missing women from that year onward are all in play, unfortunately. A missing person with some kind of connection to the address or a connection to a former resident would be interesting, I think.

As far as NamUs goes, The missing person in NamUs that might be worth looking at is Patsy Arlene Gaisor. However, the connection to the skull is very tenuous. She matches the skull in terms of NamUs's listed race and sex. Furthermore, she went missing in 1980, over two decades before the skull was found.

Her body was thought to have been dumped into the nearby Anacostia River at Anacostia Park. This park is not that long of a drive away from the address, however, it's a tenuous lead, meaning there is no significant connection. Two men were convicted of her murder in 1982. I'm not sure if there is any follow-up news on the conviction. Someone dumping a body in a river might remove the skull if they understand that dentals can be used for identification. However, that's not what was stated in the reporting for Gaisor so I'm not thinking the skull is hers. Perhaps other missing women in the area will be added to the database in time.

08 May 1982, Sat Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York) Newspapers.com

I don't mind people building off my notes, which I have decided not to publish online for this case. However, feel free to contact me if you are looking at this case.