Tim Willert
It could be several weeks before the remains of five people killed in
a plane crash -- including three believed to have Burbank ties -- are
identified, authorities said Tuesday.
"At this point we can't confirm any of the identities," said Jon
Kroeker, supervising deputy coroner for San Bernardino County.
"Anytime you have a multiple fatality, it presents a challenge for
us."
The wreckage of a Cessna 421 Golden Eagle plane was discovered
Thursday morning, about 60 miles east of Needles. The nine-passenger
plane departed Bullhead City, Ariz., about 8 p.m. Wednesday and was
heading for Van Nuys Airport when it disappeared from radar.
On Friday, family and friends confirmed that Bob Brown of Toluca
Lake, a longtime Burbank Realtor, was the plane's owner and pilot,
and that Burbank residents Bonnie Day and Bart Caldarell, were among
the passengers.
Day, a retired real estate agent, served as a board member for
North Hollywood Republican Women Federated, a women's political
organization, according to Millie Simic, a fellow member and neighbor
of Day's.
"That is a shame," Simic said Tuesday. "She was always happy, and
she was always the first one to arrive at every board meeting we
had."
Simic on Tuesday also feared that another passenger on the
ill-fated flight was Patricia Wiseman of Seal Beach, also a member of
the women's political group.
"They always went on trips together," Simic said of Ray and
Wiseman.
According to Kroeker, fingerprints and/or dental records will be
used to identify the victims.
