On January 26, 1950, a U.S. Air Force C-54 Skymaster (serial number 42-72469), departed Anchorage, Alaska for Great Falls, Montana. The aircraft was carrying 42 U.S. servicemen and a mother and child.
U.S. Air Force C-54 Skymaster
As the aircraft crossed into Yukon, Canada, they radioed the tiny outpost of Snag to report they were flying in heavy icing conditions. The plane never checked in with the next outpost located 100 miles away. Despite extensive search efforts involving both military and civilian teams, no wreckage or survivors were ever found.
The disappearance of the C-54 Skymaster occurred in a challenging, remote area, which hampered search efforts. Due to advances in remote sensing technologies and a dedicated team of investigators, Project Recover and its partners are led to believe there is a strong probability of finding the aircraft and have launched the Yukon 2469 Mission. Phase 1 of the search costs $215,000 and will begin dependent on fundraising success.
“My Daddy {Master Sergeant Robert Espe}, who lost his wife and son that day, keenly understood the pain the families were experiencing. He would write letters to those families, saying what wonderful men they were. He sat down and did that because those were his friends. It is our responsibility to find and bring them home. Please support the mission and make a donation today.”
– Kathy Luers – Daughter of Master Sergeant Robert Espe
If you’d like to support our fundraising efforts to locate and bring these American heroes home to their loved ones, please visit Project Recover to make your tax-deductible contribution.
For fundraising questions, please contact Christian@Projectrecover.org.
For mission-related questions, please contact: Jim Thoreson at jimthoreson@shaw.ca or Michael Luers at MLuers@sbwrd.org.
Project Recover and Principal Investigators Jim Thoreson & Michael Luers
Hi my name is Andrew Gregg and in 2022 we released a Canadian documentary film called “SKYMASTER DOWN.” I had found out about the missing aircraft in Whitehorse in 2018 and got obsessed. Since the film came out word about the missing plane and all of its passengers has spread and searches have resumed. Having spoken with several families of the missing, the key reason for finding the lost plane is to bring them closure. It’s what they’ve waited for, for 75 years. I’m excited about this new endeavour by Mike Luers, Jim Thoreson and Project Recover and I’d like to help any way I can. Many thanks for the effort.