Pilot’s plane discovered in Sullivan Lake six years after his body surfaced

COLVILLE NATIONAL FOREST, Wash. — Searchers have found Terry Coleman’s missing plane beneath Sullivan Lake’s surface, finally confirming what the tight-knit community suspected for six years since the 2019 crash that claimed the pilot’s life.

The Colville pilot’s aircraft, discovered Nov. 12, sits aligned with the lake’s north end airstrip runway, revealing a heartbreaking reality. Coleman likely crashed trying to land.

Coleman vanished during what should have been a routine short flight in November 2019. His body surfaced in the lake just days later, authorities determined hypothermia killed him. The discovery answered one crushing question for his family, but created another. Where was his plane?

“This year, we found a positive target and confirmed the location with a drop camera,” Neumann said. “And it was the missing airplane from six years ago.”

For Kirk Neumann, finding the plane was personal. The general manager of Associated Underwater Services has spent years searching these waters, knowing the community needed closure.

Neumann’s breakthrough came after multiple failed attempts by other search teams. His sonar equipment detected what others had missed.

“We were able to find it. It was in line with the runway of the Sullivan Lake airstrip,” Neumann said

This discovery matters deeply to Coleman’s daughter, Colleen Cameron, who has carried the weight of his loss for six years, asking herself where the plane could be.

She’d wondered whether something sinister had claimed her father. The plane’s discovery and location tell a different story, quelling those thoughts.

Neumann’s team had suspected the plane’s general location based on where searchers recovered Coleman’s body in 2019.

“The pilot’s body was found about mid-lake. So we assumed that the plane had crashed on the south end of the lake,” Neumann explained.

That’s exactly where they found the sunken Cessna prop plane.

Now Neumann faces a new challenge. He wants to raise the aircraft before fuel or oil contaminates the pristine lake.

“Eliminate any potential spills that would pollute this pristine lake,” Neumann said.

Securing funding for that operation won’t come easily.

Meanwhile, Coleman’s family continues to seek answers about what caused the crash. They know hypothermia killed him, but they hope recovering the plane will solve the mystery of why it went down.