| Group Milwaukee U.S. Coast Guard |
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| Press Release |
Date:April 26,2005 Contact: Lt Rolando Hernandez |
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COAST GUARD SUSPENDS SEARCH FOR MISSING PILOT MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - The Coast Guard suspended the search for Jonathan Leber at 3:47 p.m. after conducting 13 searches covering more than 1390 square miles. The search was conducted by Coast Guard boat and helicopter rescue crews with the help of the Canadian Coast Guard, the Milwaukee Police Department and Fire Department. Jonathan Leber is a twenty-year-old resident of Springfield, VA. He currently resides in Water town, Wisc. where he attends the Maranatha Baptist Bible College. He was reportedly flying a Piper Archer, a single engine aircraft across Lake Michigan when he ran out of fuel and crash-landed into the lake five miles from shore just off of Cudahy, Wisc. The Coast Guard received notification from Milwaukee Sheriff 911 Dispatch of a cell phone call for help that was received just before midnight central time. While floating in the water he called the 911 to report his condition, that call along with notification from the Federal Aviation Administration sparked the immediate search and rescue effort. The Coast Guard launched its small boats from Station Milwaukee and a HH-65 Helicopter from Air Station Traverse City, Mich. The search continued after sunrise with the help of a HH-65 Helicopter from Air Station Detroit and a Canadian Coast Guard C-130 rescue plane. The Coast Guard's three rescue boats and the helicopters have received assistance in the search from two Milwaukee Police Department rescue boats and a Milwaukee Fire Department Boat. The Lake Michigan water tempreture is 43 degrees with three foot seas in the search area. ### Editors Note: For interviews and access to the 911 call audio call Coast Guard Group Milwaukee's Public Affairs Officer at (414) 747-7183.
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