The Washington times., 1921-03-26
3F[|ERSDEAD.
SAYS RUM0R
Said to Have Been Drowned in
Gulf-0thers Picked
Up by Ship.
FOREST SEARCH CONTINUES
Rescuers Work on Theory That
Blimp May Have Landed
Near Coast.

PENSACOLA, Fla, March &c.
According to an unconfrmed ru.
NOR here today, two members Of
the crew Of the missing naval
balloon which left Pensacola air
station Tuesday night have been
picked up BY . merchant vessel
hound for New Orleans. The 9th.
ers, according to this rumor. were
lost in tho gulf.
PENSACOLA. Fla. March 26.-
That the balloon which has been
missing from the naval air station
here since last Tuesday may have
drifted to land and that the five
men may have been killed or are
badly injured and now wandering
about in the forests along the CAL
houn or Bay county coast, was the
theor, advanced by Lieutenant Reed,
INSTRUCTOR in meteorology at the sta
ton, today.
ASy4D &An>A%A<oON SVOn6
This conclusion is reached by .
study-cf weather conditions of Tues
cay. Lieutenant Reed plotted the
course of the balloonists and does
not understand how the bag could
have gone to sea in the teeth of fresh
scutherly winds which were prevail
ing on Thursday along the Florida
a. 80
lists, finding the bag was losing its
5uoyancy. cut away the basket as IL
touched the surface of the water and
took refuge in the rigging. This
would cause the balloon again to
ascend, weather students assert. and
might enable the crew to reach the
land.
With these theories in mind, the
Pensacola station early this morning
dispatched a dirigible with sufficient
staying power to remain for more
than a day over the forests, under
instructions to search the mainland
and inland centers. especially the
forests, with as much care as the sea
was searched yesterday.
RETURNS WITH NO NEWS.
An Eagle boat, which had been zig
tagging practically all day Friday
and the day and night before, re-
turned to the station last night with
no news
II the men have drifted inland. it
Is considered here as almost certain
their basket has been torn away by
tree tops, IL not already cut away by
the men.
The men now have been missing
three days. Chief Quartermaster G..
r. Wilkinson took of here Tuesday
night with four students as his COM
panions. Provisions were taken for
only short period, arrangements
having been made for the flight to be
made at night for practice.
Strangely similar to the recent flight
OF Lieutenants Kloor, Hinton, AMI
Farrell from the Rockaway station is
this flight in q different cline. Like
Kloor. who commanded the ill-fated
balloon that drifted into the frozen
wilderness of the North. Wilkinson's
provisions were scant and his means
OF communication in case Of danger
limited. Oily three carrier pigeons
were taken. Two of these have re-
turned to Pensacola, one with the in
formation that the bag was in a bad
plight and about to fall into the
water.
More than 1000 square miles of
land and sea have been searched for
the balloonists missing from the
Pensacola air station. the Navy De-
partment was advised today.
The Navy Department made public
| today the last message received from
the missing balloonists, which was
received by pigeon. Tn message fol-
lows:
March 25, 11:25 a m. Drifting
northward; all supplies gone. Alti-
| tude 100 feet; drag rope out"