Victims Still In Wreckage

Recovery teams on frozen Lake Erie Friday raised the wrecked fuselage of a Cessna 208 near Pelee Island, with the bodies of all ten victims still inside the aircraft. The Caravan went down in bad weather on January 17th, as it was returning a group of hunters from the island to Windsor (ON).

All but one of the passengers aboard the flight, operated by Georgian Express, were from Ontario. They were identified as Fred Freitas, 39, and Larry Janik, 49, both of Kingsville; Ted Reeve, 54, Tom Reeve, 50, and Robert Brisco, 47, all of Chatham; Ronald Spencler, 54, and Walter Sadowski, 49, both of Windsor, and Jim Allen, 52, of Mitchell's Bay.

The ninth passenger on board, 28-year old Jamie Levine of Los Angeles (CA), was a friend of the pilot, 33-year old Wayne Price of Richmond Hill (ON).

Families of the victims, still grieving, issued a statement Friday, honoring both US and Canadian officials for their work in the freezing waters of Lake Erie. "A special thanks to the crews from the Canadian and American Coast Guards, the coroner and officers from the OPP for their continuous efforts on our behalf, many of whom were away from their own families," the statement said. "A great thank you to the people of Kingsville, Leamington, Pelee Island and surrounding communities for opening their hearts to us."

A memorial service was held at the crash site Friday. An iron cross and a wreath were dropped into the icy waters as a bell rang out ten times -- once for each of the victims.

The wreckage was being transported by truck to Windsor (ON) over the weekend, where the bodies were to be removed from the fuselage under the director of the local coroner.

FMI: www.uscg.mil