Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1927-12-26
ship
near RADIOON
SABLE ISLAND
Friends Equip Boats
For Search; Others
Seek Mrs. Grayson
And Companions

NEW YORK, y. Y, Dec. 26.-tFl
Radio messages from the grave
yard Of the Atlantic today indicated
that Mrs. Frances Grayson Wilson
and three companions in the am
phibian monoplane Dawn had battled
"a north Atlantic storm a few hun
dred miles from Harbor Grace, New
Foundland, their destination in a
flight from New York.
An interrupted message picked up
At y.45 o'clock last night by the
Canadian government wireless sta
tion on Sable Island. 10 miles south
east Of Nova Scotia, indicated the
craft met trouble some where in the
stormy waters Of the north Atlantic.
The broken message with the single
tragic phrase Ineligible, ending
with the letters "nce" anG signed W.
NJ. u. was the slendar thread upon
which hope hung today.
-Four occupants Of the plane might
still be alive.
Plane Signs Call
The Canadian radio station said
that the strength of the signals led
them to judge the distance at eighty
TO one hundred miles.
Several ships listened for her sig
nails but no report Of any kind was
received, the station declared. The
radio station said:
Mine forty-five p. m. yesterday
heard very high pitch and swinging
q w interrupted continuous wave
note saying something gone wrong
Owing TO interference could not get
beginning or rest Of it but three
last letters of last word "nce". Sign
ed W. NJ. L. Signals were off a
strength and might have been judg-
cd 20 be between eighty or hundred
miles. Several ships listened for her
signals but no report of any kind
received yet. (The call letters Of
the Dawn were WMU).
Use Small Set
The message was the first direct
word from the plane; since il took
off from Roosevelt field at 5:O7 ID.
m. Friday on its 200 mile flight.
The plane passed over Orleans.
Mass, on Cape Cod at 1925 .. m. Fri
day, the radio station Of the French
Cable Company said. and then vanish
ed into silence until the messages
were heard.
The characteristics Of the signal
received from the plane indicated the
fliers were using a small emergency
set with a range of - TO so miles.
The fact that the message was re-
celyed at the Sable Island station was
taken to indicate the plane must
have been IN the vicinity OF the IS
land to make its signal heard through
ported eventually interrupted by
planes signal.
Reute Over Water
Two overwater jumps were before
the Dawn II it had followed a direct
line from Cape Cod to New Found
land. The first hop, out of sight OF
land, was enc of 80 miles from the
cape 10 Nova Scotia. and one OF $50
miles from Nova Scotia TO New
Foundland.
The plane carried 525 gallons of
gasoline when IL took-off, a supply
estimated a. sufficient for 20 hours
~ flying. This period would have
expired al 1907 p. m. Saturday, about
six hours after the time Mrs. Gray
son had expected TO reach Harbor
Grace TO prepare for a $500 mile
flight 20 Croydon, England.
With Mrs. GraysOn were Lieut.
enant oskar Omdal. pilot. Brice
Goldsborough, navigator and radio
operator. and Fred kohler. motor ex-
pert. All but kohler comprised the
projected transatlantic flylng group.
To Send Out Boats
Friends and relatives Of the miss
ing fliers spurred searching efforts
from New York. The first air re-
lief expedition. financed ~ Mrs.
brice Goldstorough with $500. given
her for Christmas BY her husband
had only n negative result. William
Winston, an aviator, found nothing
IN a search Of the New England
coast
The coast guard patrols, Canadian
railway employees, radio and tsle-
graph stations on the New Found
land coast. Canadian wireless sta
tons, and coastal and other steam
ers were enlisted in the search.
Friends Of the missing fliers TO-
day were awaiting receipt OF $4,000
for which they had cabled Mrs. A
Anckcr, financial hacker of thq
nawn's flight. in Demark. IL was
planned 10 finance two boats with
this money. one 20 start out from
Long Island Sound and one from ahe
Seighborhood Of Nantucket, Mass
10 explore the areas in which il was
believed the Dawn might have been
force ddown.
Engineers Of the Sikorsky com
rany. builders of the Dawn, pointed
out that the Dawn alone or the
planes which have been lost in trans
atlantic flight ventures was OF the
amphibian type, and expressed the
opinion that IL was capable Of with
standing Sea and weather rnpEsesc-.
II il had been forced down on A
course between New York and Har.
bor Grace.