Authorities name 2 men in plane missing over Lake Michigan

FRANKFORT, Mich. – Authorities have released the names of two men they believe were aboard a small plane that went missing over Lake Michigan in northern Michigan.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reported Wednesday that the Benzie County sheriff’s office lists the missing men as 65-year-old Randal Dippoid, of Perry, and 53-year-old Emanuel Manos, of Monroe.

It isn’t clear which man was piloting the plane that dropped off radar Sunday night about 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) west of Frankfort.

The plane reportedly was having engine trouble and controllers had directed it to an airport in Frankfort when it vanished. Authorities have said the plane took off from Ontonagon in the Upper Peninsula and was heading to Monroe in southeastern Michigan.

The sheriff’s office says the search now is a recovery mission.