GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich. — The Block family is searching for answers decades after their loved ones’ plane disappeared in northern Michigan.
John Block was 30 years old when his parents, John Block Senior and Jean Block, planned to fly from Detroit to Luzerne, Michigan on July 4th, 1977. Their plane never arrived at the air strip east of Grayling.
“My brother called me or I called him and said, ‘Hey, did our parents show up?’ In my own, did they skip coming to Traverse City and vice versa? And they said, ‘No, we haven't seen or heard from since,’” John Block, son of the missing parents, said.
John was at work when he got the news. He and his brother immediately started an active search that night. It’s a search that continues today.
Former commercial pilot Patrick Richardson says at the time the plane was considered ‘overdue.’ It still hasn’t been found decades later and is now classified as missing. There’s no evidence of what could have happened. A crash site has not been located.
Some witnesses say they saw the plane going down.
“We've had one eyewitness in Rose City that wrote a letter that said she saw plane matching our description. You also have to remember that conservation and DNR planes are also green and white, which my grandparents’ plane was green and white,” Jennie Block, granddaughter of the missing couple, said.
“Eyewitnesses say they saw the airplane go down in the lake, dam, but everything was eliminated,” John Block said.
John says his dad was a Detroit fire chief and had been flying planes for almost 40 years. He wasn’t known to fly over water.
“He was definitely afraid of putting the airplane down in the water and it breaking up and then sinking,” John Block said. “Who knows. There might be a guy out there fishing this afternoon and starting to bring up airplane parts out of the water, but very unlikely.”
The family is asking anyone to keep eyes out for anything that could be a missing piece to this heartbreaking mystery. They are focusing on the Huron National Forest and the Atlanta State Game area.
“You may walk across a pile of rubbish that you think is junk. Could it actually be something substantial,” Jennie Block said. “We need to get the word out there when asked them to look not just on the ground, but also in the forest canopy because aircraft that are this light can also be lodged in the forest canopy and people don't always think to look up,” Richardson said.
The family says they’re especially asking hunters, DNR conservation officers and law enforcement to keep an eye out.
If you see anything, contact the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Department or local law enforcement.
