Search continues for missing men flying over Wawa area

Ground terrain is incredibly hilly with lots of trees and snow in some areas

John Fehr. Facebook Photo

Sunday marks the third full day of searching for two missing men after their plane disappeared in the Wawa area Thursday evening.

Major Trevor Reid, the Senior Public Affairs Officer with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre out of Trenton, says the visibility conditions have cleared up significantly compared to the last several days of their search.

“Weather conditions have improved somewhat so that’s certainly assisting in our ability to search,” Reid says. “Last night we did have a CC130H Hercules do a night search, but unfortunately it did not produce results.”

The same seven search and rescue aircraft from Saturday have taken to the skies today to continue their efforts in finding the missing individuals. Reid noted their search is primarily limited to the air as the ground terrain is incredibly hilly with lots of trees and snow in some areas.

Reid could not confirm the identities of the pair that have gone missing, but Facebook comments from family members and friends have noted that John Fehr and pilot Brian Slingerland were the two men on the missing plane.

Meanwhile in a Facebook post from this morning, Mary Reimer – the sister of missing John Fehr – is remaining hopeful her brother and the pilot are found safe, despite the harsh reality that time is dwindling quickly. Her post reads:

"John Fehr (my brother) and his friend Brian Slingerland are still missing despite the ongoing search for them since Thursday night. Today is the first day they will have a clear day in order to search properly.

They have been saving some resources for today. Let’s pray hard that the weather holds, and that God will give the searchers direction as where to look. I’m still praying for a miracle that they would be found alive although despair is pulling pretty hard the other way. We know that GOD knows and want to trust HIM for the outcome. Please keep Johns wife Lisa and Brian’s wife Sue in your prayers as well as their children. Waiting and not knowing is so incredibly hard."