AUSTIN, Wash. — The family of multiple Whidbey Island plane crash victims is fundraising in hopes of hiring a private company to recover their bodies from Puget Sound.
Lauren Hilty, her unborn child Luca and her son Remy were killed in an early September plane crash that also claimed the lives of her husband, Ross Mickel, and seven others.
While Mickel and five other victims were recovered during the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) mission to retrieve the crash wreckage earlier this month, Hilty and Remy were not found.
Hilty's sister, Broadway and television actress Megan Hilty, posted on Instagram saying her family has set up a GoFundMe in the hopes of hiring a private company to look for their bodies.
"Now that the NTSB has concluded its work, it is up to us to hire a private company to go look for them. While the chances are slim, there is still a possibility we can find them, and we all agree at the end of the day, we want to say we did everything we could to bring them home," Megan Hilty wrote.
So far the campaign has raised over $26,000, with a goal of $50,000. Megan Hilty said any extra funds raised will be donated to "the incredible team who have dedicated their lives to helping families like ours search for their loved ones."
The Hilty family issued a statement saying:
“The Hilty family wants to express their gratitude for the overwhelming support that they have been given today. They are comforted knowing that they are not alone in their efforts to find Lauren, Remy & Luca.”
The families of the plane crash victims are awaiting the completion of the NTSB's investigation into the cause of the crash so they can conduct their own review, according to an attorney representing them. This is because the NTSB's findings cannot be used in a court of law.