It was Friday, Nov. 29, 1940, when Clarence and Alta Walbert left Medford in the fog for Portland, Ore., in a Piper Cub owned by a Medford Flying Club friend.
Relatives expected them back on Sunday. When the Walberts had not returned by Monday morning, a search got underway, but the fog was so thick pilots couldn’t fly.
One person had reported hearing a plane flying back and forth between Tiller and Trail. On Tuesday, the Civilian Conservation Corps workers on the South Umpqua River began a ground search. Flyers from the Civil Air Association, the Medford Flying Club and other airports all over the state joined the search. The search was called off on Dec. 8 despite dozens of reported sightings and a $500 reward.
Eight years later, a hunter found the plane with the remains of the Walberts in the cockpit. It had gone down in a steep canyon 20 miles west of Diamond Lake. Family members held a service next to the plane and buried the Walberts at the site.
Sources: “Walberts Unseen Since Hop-off to Portland Friday”, Medford Mail Tribune, December 2, 1940, p.1 “Walbert’s Remains Will Rest At Scene of Airplane Crash”, Medford Mail Tribune, October 27, 1948, p. 1.
