Evening star., 1936-12-17
HUNT INTENSIFIED
FORL0ST A|RPLANE
Searchers Fear Seven Are
Lost as Mountain Area
! Is Combed.
ny the Associated Press.

SALT LAKE CITY. Decembe- IT.
Fearful heavy SHOWS would erase the
most tsngible clue to seven persons
given I'd for dead aboard a lost sky
liner. Sarchers struggled toward the
scene t,day on horseback, snowshoes
and skis
FIFTEEN planes mobilized here tc
aid in he quest for the Western All
Express transport missing since early
Tuesdar were made ready for mo-
mentar' call.
Clearing skies in the picturesque
Valley of Great Salt Lake stretching
north tom the mountainous center oi
the search gave hope the planes
GROUNDED most of yesterday by rair
and fq. could carry out their organ.
lied ptrt of the search.
But II was upon hundreds of heav-
ly-clofed men toiling up opposite
sides d a ridge below ll,200-foot Lone
Peak hat the anxious eyes of those
following the hunt were chiefly fixed
Separate parties were formed at
Alpini. where a plane was reported
heard in distress before dawn Tues
day. and at Draper, five miles from
Alpirf. This Is about Is miles from
Utahs capital.
Traces" Believed Found.
Or ridge running down from Lone
Peak extending between Draper and
Alpne, J. I. Hess. Forest Service fore
mar. found yesterday what he believed
to te traces" of the lost plane.
The blizzard which prevented Hess
iron following what he described as
a rpSsible trail starting with a broken
tire, and torn up earth where plane
mIht have struck" abated early today
still, snow on the mountain levels
wS reported from feet deep to up
tothe waist
Leaders of the ground parties
pessed forward on horses. Theil
nan was to proceed as far as the
Iprses could carry them in the deep.
a1ing snow up the slopes. then dis.
mount, turn to snow shoes or skis
where practicable.
One official who declined to bt
quoted was dubious as to whether
Hess clue would pan out"
He said if the plane had struck the
nountainside some metal should have
seen left lying about" but he added:
we aren't passing up any bets. The
plane seems to be in that area some
place-in fact. in region only oi
about square miles-and Hess huncf
is as good as anybody's."
The five men and two women oc.
eupants of the lost liner already hac
been given up for dead by officials.
George Keyser, jr., traffic manager
tor Western Air Express, led one group
of ski experts. He emphasized, how
ever, that the difficulties were great
owing to the new-fallen snow.
Seven Are Missing.
The missing seven we're Mr.. and Mrs.
John F. Wolfe of Chicago. married only
II days ago: Henry W. Edwards. Min
neapolis, a representative of Northwest
Airlines; Carl Christopher. Dwight,
Ill, on his way home when informed
his wife was seriously i'll; Stewardess
Gladys Witt, who recently made the
headlines with a cross-country ro-
mantle mix-up; Pilots 8. j. Samson
and William Bogen.
Jimmy James, veteran Western Air
6yer and q buddy of Pilot Samson, was
confident he could find the plane.
/; Give me decent weather and I can
find 1t in As minutes If it Is in that
region" he said
Volunteers from the Regular Army
post at Salt Lake City. members of
the Civilian Conservation Corps and
ranchers-in all between 400 and 500
mentioned the search.
Two men who loved pretty Miss Witt
sat on opposite sides of the continent
today anxious and hopeful.
At Newark, N. j.. last night Pilot
James Roe of Transcontinental and
Western Air, at the end of a regular
run from Kansas City, hovered near a
radio, repeating:
There's still a chance; there's still
q chance"
I'VE are not married" he said, al
though had hopes we would have
been before this time"
In California, Erick K. Balzer,
steamship executive who was left all
but waiting at the altar oy the
conely stewardess. said he no longer
loved her.