Have been super slow to roll out any blog posts lately and apologize deeply. I’m a little disabled emotionally, and bogged down with work, etc. I’m also in Anchorage when I feel like I need to be in Juneau…
Below is a picture from a hike that I did when I was in Juneau over Father’s day weekend. I’ve been around this corner on Mount Meek twice now (arrows) and have meant to get on the steep face in the box (may be even steeper looking at it from the water side). Airplanes usually pass above this box, but we all know weather was shitty that day and holding things down. Also, while a radio transmission should have been received from here, I still consider this location a possibility. As the one year anniversery of my Dad’s and brother’s disappearance approaches I still cherish and every moment I had with them, think about them every day, and want to find them eventually. –
Mount Meek Corner
Filed under: Treks
Did a search/hunt on Admiralty yesterday, and after chasing a deer into the woods, completed a mini loop with the Creek trail (see below). Furthermore, the estimation that I made from my helicopter flights over the area seemed accurate – that there is about a 40% visual penetration rate to the ground (versus 25% or so on Douglas). I’d like to do some more foot searching in the area, but probably won’t get to for some time.
Filed under: Boat Searches, Posts From The Family, Treks, Unofficial Reports
This paddle does not match the one described in the blog entry titled “Evidence,” but it is very close.
(Found by Katherine and B.J. Andrews 09-21-08 at 58.19′51″N, 134.56′59″W (near False Point Retreat)).
From B.J. - I have several searches planned as well as some updates. First, I, personally, want to do a few walks so that I have first-hand knowledge of the forest cover:
- Woods from Young’s Lake to Admiralty Cove.
- Face of the ridgeline west of Horse/Colt, i.e. the GPS coordinates of Piece 2 (following this post).
- Wash-up zones and beaches on N. Mansfield Peninsula, west around P. Retreat.
- There is a saddle and face on NW Douglas where pilot’s tend to cut the corner coming into the airport.
- And lastly, the bowls S. of Young’s Lake in case they tried to turn around and land back in the lake.
Also, we have been pursuing Satellite data:
- I am currently working with mapmart.com to acquire 60 cm resolution imagery; although, ARCHER images are up to 8 cm resolution and the software finds anomalies automatically.
- Steve Eason and I are working with the Japanese Satellite Agency to get synthetic aperture radar over the area if possible, which can find metallic objects through cloud cover and foliage.
Moreover, all of these planned activities would not be possible without the amazing support of the community thus far. My family and I continue to be overwhelmed by both the personal offerings and the financial donations. I cannot say enough thanks, nor how much it means to us. Juneau is the most amazing community in the world – truly!
Filed under: Boat Searches, Posts From The Family, Treks, Unofficial Reports
Met with NOAA on Thursday, to find out there aren’t many well documented currents in Stephen’s Passage. There is underwater current that travels a knot northward at Grand Island, and one that travels .7 knots southward at Shelter Island. See the drift model previously posted for more on where debris could have floated to. Unofficially, NOAA also doesn’t believe in a saltwater crash scenario. I spoke with an FAA representative in Washington D.C. at length on Friday to find out that the failure rate on ELT’s is higher? than 1 in 1000. (Maybe I wrote it down wrong). Hopefully I’ll have a source document on this soon. Also, the stats are messed up with hundreds of false positives. It’s a political mess right now as well, with the global satellite that receives ELT signals going down on Feb. 1, 2009 and pilots waiting for new systems to get “officially” certified. (My advice, don’t wait…) I plan to research this issue, and possibly write some of our legislators.
Next, the C.A.P. sent ARCHER away to be recalibrated. Apparently it wasn’t functioning perfectly (and personally I’d rather have it in good working order) – two weeks. Lastly, regarding backposts and hiking this weekend, I ordered the blog chronologically as well as put up all of the planned and executed searches e-mailed from the Coast Guard; I hiked for about seven hours this weekend, and will elaborate on both these later.
We continue to look as hard as we can, but remembering is also seeming more relevent and joyous.
Goodnight,
BJ, Veida, Nikki, Joyce
I know that I may not speak for Nikki, BJ, or Joyce, but I’m not ready to stop searching. I’m not ready to give away that small kernel of hope that I have that they will be found, that we will have answers. For me, the thought that Brandon and Brian have been overlooked because of the canopy during the air searches is scarier than I can convey. Throughout this time, and long before the Coast Guard suspended the search, I have felt that there needed to be more people on the ground.
I’m not very good at asking for help, especially when the helper would be put in harms way, but we need help from the hunting and outdoors community.
It’s my personal opinion that Admiralty Island needs to be foot searched better, and I don’t know how or who to ask for help to do foot searching on this dangerous island. As far as I know, Juneau Mountain Rescue was only put on the ground to cover the Admiralty Creek Trail and a nob of land on the north side of Young Bay. Paul and Jaime Kissner walked on foot from Grouse Point to a hook of land across from the north side of Horse Island.
I think that the crown of land just south of Lone Mountain and north of Bear Creek on Admiralty needs to be searched on foot. I know that this is also a deer hunting area. I know that there are many people out there who are familiar with this piece of land and know how to defend themselves from the large bear population. These are the people I am asking for help to search Admiralty.
If you are one of these people, or know someone who is one of these people, and would like to participate in an organized search on Admiralty, please let me know by calling me at 209-4080, or by leaving a post.
-Veida
Day 20 and we still can’t talk about Brian or Brandon in the past tense.
We appreciate everyone’s continuing thoughts about us. Thanks.
BJ, Nikki, Joyce and Veida
Sharing My Thoughts
Several requests have come in for my first hand knowledge and thoughts; I’m sorry I only have a limited amount of time looking. I took three helicopter flights and one Ward Air flight, two boat rides, and have been out in the woods four times, as well as having a lot of information come through me. From the flights I primarily remained positive, doing a lot of shoreline searching, except on Friday the 15th which was a nice weather day and we focused on the trees. From that Temsco flight I feel we can check off the area from Young’s Lake to Admiralty Cove, but at the same time, I have not been through the woods on foot over there (I’ve got my shotgun loaded and I’ll be ready to go next weekend. I might ask for others to get involved then to thwart the bear threat). Further, my assumption is that Douglas is the least visually penetrated area, because I know well by now how thick the forest is. When hiking, I seem to have a strong preference for “the dark”/heavy canopy, low underbrush areas, but then again, it might just be because it’s easier hiking.
Ongoing Looking
On Sunday, Veida and others are hiking into the area/ridgeline east of Robber Baron Peak on Admiralty Island/Mansfield Peninsula. Further the ARCHER system is on its way; however, the logistics and weather window are still being worked out. Also, I called Google Earth/Digital Globe to take some satellite pictures, but I don’t have a contractual arrangement with them yet. Lastly, we might get a few more tracklines of the side-scanning sonar accomplished, but at this point I don’t know how much ocean currents or other factors are decreasing the effectiveness of continuing use of this equipment.
Other Good News
I got my cast off for the first time in nine months, and Vice Presidential Candidate Palin called our house several days ago to give her regards, so if we need it, I have her personal cellular telephone number 
