Excerpt from the logbook of Mike Terhune

Cory Fladeboe, along with two fishing companions, were using an underwater camera on Saturday morning to see why the walleye below them were not biting. They could see the plane along with the military star, Cory knew that they had found Green Lakes’ legendary missing plane. Craig Fladeboe (Cory Fladeboe’s uncle) called me on July 3, 2004 to inform me that Cory Fladeboe had found the "missing plane" of local lore, in Green Lake. I contacted Diver Billy (William Lacroix) and Fred Kovall to see if they wanted to go diving and confirm the find. They both couldn't wait to go. Craig lined up a boat with Captain Mort (Rick Mortensen) and his First Mate Deb (Cahlander) to get the group to the site. The divers were Craig Fladeboe, Roger Fladeboe (Craig's cousin), David Thompson (a friend of Rogers), Fred Kovall, William Lacroix and I. We all met at the public access on the north side of Green Lake, near the Old Mill Inn. Cory was in a boat above the plane marking the spot and Kevin Fladeboe (Cory’s father) was there in his boat. Mort led us to the spot slowly because there were four divers (Craig, Fred, Billy and I) on the pontoon along with Mort and Deb so the boat was a little over loaded. Roger and David went with Kevin due to lack of room on the pontoon. After getting to the plane I took about 60 pictures. I didn't expect the pictures to turn out because of the lack of water clarity and no strobe on the camera; about 50 of them were OK. The plane was a Cessna L-19 "Birddog" that had been piloted by Capt. Richard Carey, a Minnesota National Guard member who lived in Willmar. The plane had crashed on October 15, 1958; I had just had my first birthday five days earlier. The plane was in great shape and it was neat to be involved with the find.

We hope to go back with Todd and Bill Matthies so Todd can get some video of the plane. Bill Matthies, owner of the Minnesota School of Diving, Brainerd, had searched for the plane as a scuba diver in 1961 or 1962 for the Civil Air Patrol. The Patrol hoped to recover the radios on the plane. They were hermetically sealed and could remain submerged for several years without damage, he said. Matthies said he and a companion spent a number of days looking for the plane in the early 60's. They dove, used a sonar unit, and went knocking on doors, asking people for information. Matthies said they became discouraged when one man told them that he had seen the plane hauled from the lake, and they gave up their search. At the time of his search, Matthies stayed at the Old Mill Inn on the lake's north end, not far from where the plane was found. Matthies provided the camera used by the divers to authenticate the find.

A little history of the plane we dove on in Green Lake (Spicer, MN). The pilot’s name is Captain Richard Carey, he and his wife had seven children between 8 months and 12 years of age. The youngest of the children is Colleen, she and I graduated together from Willmar in 1976. I didn’t know the history of her family until after we went diving on the plane. I knew the local legend of the “missing plane” in Green Lake but I didn’t know it was Colleen’s father until she called me after seeing me on the local news. I had taken over 50 pictures of the plane (a Cessna L-19 "Birddog'') under water so I burned a CD for Colleen. We meet for a couple of hours one day and we looked over the pictures of the plane. It was a nice visit and we hope to go diving on her father’s plane in the near future; Colleen is a dive or two away from becoming a certified diver.

Colleen (Carey) and Mike Butler, Todd Matthies, William (Diver Billy) Lacroix and I dove on Captain Richard Carey's plane 46 years and 2 days after it had crashed. Todd dove in first to get some video, Bill and Mike were buddies and Colleen and I were buddies. Bill and Mike aborted the dive shortly after they reached the plane due to Mike loosing one of his fins. Colleen and I made it to the plane after descending on a rock bar and swimming a short distance to the plane. Todd videoed the experience for Colleen and hopefully it was a good dive for Colleen despite the weather and the late start. The dive was less than half an hour but we saw what we could before the visibility turned bad. I did notice the plane had a lot of silt on it compared to the previous two dives. The added silt, the overcast sky and the time of day all played a part in the poorer visibility today. It was a neat dive to do with some great people. I hope this will help Colleen in some way to connect with the father she never knew. I was happy and honored to be a part of it.