Bodies in Wreckage Identified

Robbinsville, NC -  The bodies of two men found Tuesday, November 19, 1985 in the wreckage of an aircraft in a remote and uninhabited area of Graham County North Carolina were positively identified Friday as two men from Olney, Illinois.

The victims were identified as Marty Allen Black, 38, the pilot and Charles Anthony  Wagner, 35, a passenger.

A Federal Aviation Administrative pathologist in Knoxville, Tennessee, confirmed the identification from dental records and bone structure, Graham County Sheriff, A.J. Peterson said.

The two men left Olney, Illinois on March 8 for a 200 mile flight to Nashville, Tenn, after telling family and friends they were going to a gun auction. They told employees of Triangle Air Service, owners of the aircraft, that two duffle bags they carried contained guns. Black, a commercial pilot, worked as a Charter pilot for the firm.

The last time the men were heard from was when they refueled the aircraft in Melbourne, Florida, when shortly before midnight on March 8, the two men climbed into their single-engine Piper Saratoga, taxied onto the runway of the airport and took off for their hometown in Illinois. They never got there.

When the men failed to return to Illinois, a search was launched along their flight path, but was called off when no trace of the aircraft was found. Monday, November 18, 1985, a pilot, flying over the Nantahala National Forest on a training exercise spotted the reflection of a part of the downed aircraft. The Nantahala Forest is located in the southwestern tip of North Carolina. The pilot notified the Andrews-Murphy Airport and Tuesday a search plane directed a ground party to the wreckage.

The only remains of the men were a few bones and teeth found in the badly burned wreckage. Two loaded .38-caliber pistols, part of a man’s necklace, a belt buckle, less than $1 in change and a Masonic ring were also found, but the scene revealed no sign of luggage or the duffle bags.

Investigators were unable to find the registration numbers on the aircraft, but it was identified by numbers on a key chain and serial numbers on the 300-horsepower engine. The aircraft was a six-seat, high performance Piper Saratoga with the two rear seats missing.

Published in Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC) – Saturday, November 23, 1985

Charles Anthony "Tony" Wagner, 34, of Rt. 2, Olney died March 9, 1985 in an airplane crash in North Carolina.  Private family burial services are planned.  Visitation held at the home of Randy and Mary Phillips in Claremont with Masonic Rites.

He was born November 29, 1950 in Olney, the son of Charles Oral and Inez Tucker Wagner.  He married Christine Fix on July 4, 1970 in Olney and she survives.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Charles Adam Wagner; a daughter, Crystal both of Olney; three brothers, Jack Wagner of Olney, Ted Wagner of Henderson, Nev. and William Smith of Midland, Mich.; a sister, Rebecca Bell of Olney; several aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

He was a member of the Olney Eagles, Olney Lodge No. 140 A.F. & A.M. and a military veteran.  He was employed as a construction worker and was a member of the Lutheran Church.

Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL)