Help sought to locate plane that disappeared in Northern Nevada

National Rifle Association president Sandy Froman has requested Nevada sportsmen's help in finding a family member's aircraft that disappeared in Northern Nevada on Aug. 31 in an area north of Interstate 80, possibly in the Jarbidge Wilderness area.

Froman's cousin, Roy Grossman, 55, and his daughter, Claire, 17, were in a blue and white Piper PA-18-150 (a fixed-wing single engine plane)flying from Jackpot to Davis, Calif.

Family members said the two were on their way back from Jackson Hole, Wyo., after a flyfishing trip. They were last seen in Jackpot, where the airport crew reports Grossman took off to the south and banked west.

Grossman didn't file a flight plan and when the plane did not reach Davis when expected, and the Grossmans couldn't be reached by cellular phone, the FAA was notified and a search was initiated by the Nevada Civil Air Patrol. There has been no radar contact with the plane, which leads investigators to think the plane did not enter the Battle Mountain area, where radar contact is available.

"They probably went down in a box canyon, as there was never an emergency signal received," said Froman. "They could be anywhere in that corridor between I-80 and the Idaho border. We're asking anyone traveling the backcountry to report wreckage to the closest authorities."

Roy Grossman is a retired physician, an experienced pilot of 25-plus years, and an outdoorsman. They had camping equipment with them for the trip. The tail number on the plane is N2333J.

Anyone seeing the plane flying on Aug. 31, or who has spotted wreckage is asked to call one of the numbers listed below:

Elko County Sheriff Marvin Morton, (775) 763-6686; Humboldt County Sheriff Gene Hill, (775) 623-6429, 1-800-THE-LOST.

The 2005 Reno National Championship Air Races resulted in some local winners. They were:

• Dave Cronin, of Minden, third in silver

• Dennis Buehn, of Carson City, sixth in silver

• Mike Brown, of Carson City, sixth in silver

• Dan Vance and Mike Brown, owner, of Carson City, seventh in gold

In his quest to ride his bike around the world, former Nevada Appeal photographer Rick Gunn has reached the East Coast. Gunn left from the Golden Gate Bridge on July 1. He arrived at the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday.

He plans to spend the next two years circumnavigating the globe and collecting donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Updates of his adventures are published in the Appeal and on his Web site rickgunnphotography.com. To donate to the charity go to Wish.org.

Look on Page C1 of today's paper for his latest journal entry. The story of his experiences in the East is forthcoming.