John Fair and Brian Slingerland disappeared for the first time on Thursday afternoon after their plane disappeared in Wawa, Ont. area, near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
The couple took off on the plane, bought by Slingerland, from the city of Delhi in southern Ontario.
Mary Reimer, Fer’s sister, said the couple’s destination was the Odd Marathon, which would serve as a stop on their way back to Alberta. Fer was intended as co-pilot of the aircraft.
Reimer said her brother recently won his pilot’s license. He said he always liked the idea of flying.
Heavy snowfall on the ground, up to five feet in some places, has hampered air research. — Maj. Trevor Reid, Joint Rescue Coordination Center
“The stomach is all knots. Everyone, including me, is just waiting anxiously, but we’m afraid of what we might get, you know, when the news comes,” Reimer said.
“I’m just waiting. I’m just waiting and I do not know. This is the most difficult thing right now, it ‘s to wait and not know.”
Reimer said that when he spoke to Fer Lisa’s wife earlier today, he had said that the family was “hanging on to hope”. The couple, Reimer said, has six children.
Major Trevor Reid is the Senior Public Affairs Officer at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Trenton.
Reid said about 85 people are involved in the ground and air search and rescue operation through the Joint Rescue Coordination Center, the Royal Canadian Air Force, OPP, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Civil Aviation Search and Rescue Association (CASARA). But the weather conditions in recent days were not favorable.
“Heavy snowfall on the ground, up to five feet in some places, has hampered air research,” Reed said.
“Also, the ground in this general area is quite uneven and is a challenge for some of our search and rescue partners.”
Reed added that rescue teams were looking for an emergency transmitter signal (ELT) from the plane, but so far have not been able to.
While the weather has created difficulties, Reid said it has improved and hopes it will continue as crews continue their search.
“We can not do much”
Reimer said to her knowledge that her brother was unfamiliar with northern Ontario territory, “I think he knew it was more or less deserted for that.” He said that so far, the moral and financial support has been incredible both from members of the community and from strangers across the country. She said five of her other siblings were preparing to join the investigation if it continued. “It makes us feel like we’re at least doing something,” he said. “We can not do much here. We pray. We pray a lot.”