It was 11:45pm, 15 minutes before Kathy's shift would be over, and a new crew would come on duty to work the midnight to 8:00am shift. Normally, Kathy would stick around for a few minutes to brief the relieving crew and maybe have a cup of coffee with them. Tonight it was different. Tonight, she had no intentions of leaving. How could she? How could she go home, not knowing what happened to Aero Commander 1287? No she would stay at the tower and help if possible, no matter how long it took to learn what happened to the aircraft.

Al, the controller who was backing up Kathy, felt the same. He in a way felt responsible. Responsible for what? There was nothing he could have done to prevent the disappearance of 1287. Never the less, he could not leave the tower, not knowing. He would remain there all night if necessary.

No one wanted to leave. “Listen,” said Joe, “I know how all of you feel about this. I feel the same, but there is nothing any of you can do by sticking around. In fact, you will only be in the way. I want you all to go home, and I promise you that if I hear anything, I will call you immediately, okay?”

Hesitantly, they agreed, realizing that Joe was right. Gathering up all their belongings, they slowly started descending the stairs that would lead to the lower floor of the facility. Joe, again assuring them that they would be notified as soon as he knew something. Passing Joe’s office on the 5th floor, then the area where all the electronic equipment was located, and finally reaching the lower floor, leading to the parking area they left the facility in their respective cars. They would be back again tomorrow to resume their duties.

As the new shift settled in to begin their duties, they reflected on what could have happened a few hours ago. The rained had stopped and the sky had brightened a bit, as the weather improved slightly. It was still IFR conditions though, but a brisk wind started blowing in from the northwest, a possible sign that the weather would be gradually clearing.

Neighboring control facilities equipped with radar equipment reported no unidentified blips on their radar screen. But Aero Commander 1287 had to be somewhere. The ground search crew had searched for miles and miles around, but found no trace of the missing aircraft. Missing yes but missing where? Soon it would be daylight, but the sky was still overcast with ugly nimbo stratus clouds that would not permit an air rescue team to be launched. Still the many volunteers, police, state police, everyone that was able to join in, would not give up their relentless search.

It was 7:00am and 16 year old Stephanie, was just leaving her house to go to school. Rather than take the school bus, Stephanie chose to ride her bike to school. Stephanie lived in the small mining town of Coster, just about 75 miles from where Aero Commander 1287 was last heard from. Coster was situated in a valley, surrounded by mountainous terrain. During the winter, and sometimes at other times of year, one could see snow atop the mountain peaks above the town. At times, when the sunrays beat down upon the snow, its glittering reflections cast shadows on the neighboring terrain. It was a beautiful sight to behold. To get to school, Stephanie had to ride her bike through a heavily wooded area One could easily get lost if they didn't know the area well. Stephanie traveled this route many times, and she felt as if she could find her way blindfolded. Never the less she still had to be very careful as the route held many treacherous pitfalls.

Stephanie was halfway to her school now, and her thoughts were filled with anticipation. Anticipation to see if she had made cheerleader for the schools football team. Today was the day when the announcements were to be made, and she couldn't wait to see if she was one of the lucky ones to be selected. Her thoughts were interrupted by something strange up ahead. Coming out from behind the huge trees was a billow of smoke, rising to well above the trees. It was something she had never seen before. Must be a forest fire, she thought. But no, how could it be? It had rained for a while during the night, and the ground was too wet for anything to burn.

Peddling as fast as she could, but being careful not to hit a rut or some unseen hazard, Stephanie approached the area that was burning. She could now smell the odor of what was burning. She could not identify the odor, except that it sort of smelled like sulfur and gasoline all mixed together, and was starting to permeate her nostrils. As she got closer she noticed that the smoke billowing above was black rather than the white hue that she thought it was. Entering the area, she was stunned by the sight. The source of the smoke was much larger than she thought. Then she recognized where the smoke was coming from.

No flames, just smoke were being emitted from the wreckage of Aero Commander 1287. There was complete silence everywhere except for the occasional crackle of burning substances deep within the wreckage. The aircraft's wings and engines were separated from the main fuselage. However, the main section appeared to be intact. It appeared that the many trees in the area had acted as a shock absorber, and tended to greatly cushion the impact. Stephanie knew that there had to be people in the aircraft. Whether they were dead or alive, she had to find out. Then out of the eerie silence came a voice, barely audible, from the damaged fuselage. It sounded like, help, help. Yes it was a cry for help.

Hurrying, she ran to the fuselage but the door to the airplane was welded shut. She could not get in the airplane no matter how hard she tried. She looked all around the aircraft but could not find any means of entry. What was she to do? It was obvious that time was being wasted. If people were alive in there they needed help, and they needed it now.

Stephanie didn't waste any time. She needed help immediately. Getting on her bike and peddling as fast as her 16 year old legs could turn the pedals, she headed towards the direction of her school. But as she left the site, she thought that she could hear more than one voice calling for help.

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