Tag Archives: Mali

By MICHELLE FAUL
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) – The small plane carrying only its American pilot disappeared 10 days ago just miles from a refueling stop at a West African island in the middle of a tropical storm of thunder and lightning.

Since then, searches with a plane and boats have found no trace of the pilot, 54-year-old missionary Jerry Krause, or the twin-engine Beechcraft 1900C that he was flying from South Africa to Mali.

Krause’s family in Mali, where he has lived for 16 years, and in Waseca, Minnesota, believes he is alive and has launched a multifaceted campaign to “find Jerry.” Family members are lobbying officials, posting messages on social media and a Web site http://www.findjerry.com as well as using the Internet to encourage a relay of prayers for his safe return.

Krause’s last contact was apparently with the control tower at Sao Tome island, a couple of kilometers north of the equator and 150 miles (240 kilometers) from the coast of Gabon.

“We have no idea what happened to him,” Januario Barreto, the control tower chief, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Read more:  http://www.kalb.com/