An RCMP underwater recovery team spent this week trying to divine more information from a plane crash almost 60 years ago. The remains of Ray Gran and Harold Thompson were never recovered from Peter Pond Lake after the Cessna that Gran was flying went down August 20th, 1959. Harold Thompson was a conservation officer and the two men were flying from Buffalo Narrows en route to La Loche. The site of the wreckage was a mystery until last summer when family members, with help from a sonar expert, found the plane wreckage. The dive got underway Tuesday in temperatures which RCMP members say felt like -40. The ice was about 2 feet thick and the team was cutting it out using a chainsaw in blocks. Five holes were made in the ice and sonar was inserted. The information gleaned appeared to show the exact location of the airplane was right under where the team was located. Over the course of this week divers have retrieved remains and personal belongings of the two men who have been missing for more than 59 years. Among the items retrieved were boots, a pendant, a camera, knife and wallet. The remains and personal belongings will be released to the family of the deceased after the Coroner’s investigation is complete. The RCMP have been posting updates via Twitter and say they hope this recovery operation helps to provide some closure to the families of the deceased.






















