On November 9, 1929, Alaskan pilot Carl "Ben" Eielson and his mechanic, Earl Borland, went missing in Siberia. /1

Eielson's company was working under a $50,000 contract for the Swenson Fur Company which had millions of dollars worth of furs loaded on the Nanuk, a ship now ice-bound off the coast of Siberia. Ben was ferrying the furs to Nome for eventual delivery to NYC. /2

After Eielson and Borland were reported overdue by the Nanuk, Eielson's best friend, Joe Crosson, formed a search. It was delayed by weather off of Nome. On Dec 17 he was in nearby Teller when his wife, Lillian, sent a telegram. She had no idea when she would see him again /3

Meanwhile, the story of Eielson & Borland's disappearance was making national news, along with the erroneous belief that they were on a rescue mission. (from the NYT) /4

FYI - that mention of the "wrecked plane sighted sixty miles from the ship" is 100% untrue. The aircraft was missing and no one had any idea where it was. /5

Everyone was under an enormous amount of pressure to find the missing men, no one more so than Frank Dorbandt, the company pilot who departed with Eielson & turned back. He would eventually be told to leave the search & return to Fairbanks. /6

Joe Crosson, however, was determined not to give up until he found Ben. (Crosson on right with fellow search pilot Robbie Robbins, taken on the Nanuk.)

Meanwhile, the weather in Nome & Teller continued to be horrific and slowed down the search considerably. /8

By this point the Alaskan searchers were joined by Siberian dog teams and Canadian pilots. But the weather continued to be brutal. /9

Then on January 25th, the wrecked Hamilton aircraft was found buried in the snow. Joe Crosson sent a telegram to Ben's father in North Dakota with the devastating news. /10

As they searched for the bodies, the company requested that the rest of the pilots transport furs back to Nome, leaving only Crosson & pilot Harold Gillam with the ship to coordinate the search. Crosson made clear they were going to have none of that plan. /11

On February 12, the body of Earl Borland was found. /12

And on February 18,1930, Ben Eielson's body was found as well. The most famous pilot in Alaskan history - a critical part of the bush pilot myth - was truly and forever gone. He was 32 years old. /13

For the rest of the story - the legend that was born around the crash - I will be back later this week! /fin