Bonus: The Last Ham

appreciate your help. In episode two, I asked you to help me find the Ham radio operators who heard a mysterious transmission that allegedly came from the Beggage Box plane. The day it disappeared. I knew that two of the Ham operators were dead, but I wasn't sure about the other four. Then I started to hear from you, our listeners. One person who emailed us was Anne Shepherd of Abington, Maryland, and did some sleuthing and figured out that one of

the Hams, Ronald Crawford, was actually Donald Crawford. Newspapers misreported his name in nineteen seventy two. Thanks to Anne, our assistant producer Chris Brown was able to speak with Don's son Bain, who clearly remembers the incident. He said his father heard the alleged pilot say the plane was quote sliding. After Anne Leeds continued to flow in, including one from Wyoming, where a couple heard my call for help. They told me they knew a man named Joe Tatum. He lived

in an assisted living facility. He might be the Joe Tatum, one of the Hams who heard the mystery transmission. They called him. Turns out he is the Joe Tatum, the last person alive who heard the transmission that's find the plane. Tatum is eighty three. He lives in Evanston, Wyoming. Can you tell me what did you hear? I heard a play a pilot and a plane more a help? And what did he What did he say? Do you remember

what he said? He said he talks to me. HU didn't through the miles south west a juno Alaska, and I made I made a map and had everything backwards because I did not know that there anything about Alaska. I just picked it up on the radio and I went from here. And did you actually speak with him or did you just hear the transmission? Well or the transmission but you didn't have a chance to directly speak

with him. No, I didn't die somewhere huddering through the miles from Juno, Alaska in the air, and did he say anything else that he did? He say the plane was in distress. Yep, he said that he didn't see the plane was distressed. He said he was talking to me. I didn't brew the mouth southwest of Juno, and that they went down and hit hit the rocks and he had three casualties. And there they said the plane was slipping.

That's all I heard, and then we lost it. Do you remember about how long you heard these transmissions for? Was it a few minutes? Was it? Was it several times over the course of an hour? It was so probably about five minutes all total at the time hearing him trying to talk to him and the plane going down, So you heard him while he was in the air, and then you say after he crossed he ever then after he crashes, because we heard I heard him beIN here first and he when he said he was probably

a hundred thirty miles southwest a Juno. And the next the next thing I knew, he said the planet. Hey, he had hit the rocks and he was uh, had three casualties. And that's all we can tell you did you get a name? No? He he said them, and he had three he had uh passion drucon, he had three casualties. And didn't you no name, no name or nothing like that? All we all I heard was just stress on the radio. Did you hear any tale number? Nope? And so I found your name in an old newspaper article.

And as far as I could tell, um, there were I think four to five other men who heard this transmission. Um, do you mind if I passed their names by you and you tell me if you remember any of them? Yeah, go ahead, al Miller, if you find that plane? How did that not? Absolutely? Sir? Yes, Um, al Miller, Uh, I'm not Victor Parker, Roy Harris. See. Most of these guys on the radio then was all under both pretense.

Hey give their r name, And we didn't know who was who until we most of us men in that plane. When you say under false pretense, you mean just because people didn't have official licenses. Yes, Oh, I wasn't a true hand operator. I had. I had a CB radio strapped down to where I could talk to each about anybody I want to do. So, when you picked up this transmission, did you pick it up on a HAM radio or on a CB radio. I picked it up on my HAM receiver and most of them was heard

on the TB radio. Gotcha, se So just to be clear, you you picked it up on on a HAM receiver though, yes, um, And then so you know obviously know more about radio than me. But you you picked it up on the HAM and a CB radio or just on the ham he I had it on. I had it on both. And the thing about a dish. Uh, he must have had channel line in his radio in that plane because we had we heard and playing clearer mm hm and so um, do you remember any other details about what

he said? I've slept shimping. And so you said that you made a map? Was that just you pulled out a map of Alaska and you and you were looking. Oh, I didn't bu on the map of Alaska. I sat down and dragged me a piece of paper, on a piece of paper where he was proxiling Matt where he was going, and I had it backwards because I didn't know that Juno was on the lower end and not

down on the where he was at. I picked it all back for Joash kind of dumbfounded over y I feel a little stupid after I learn minute that that Juno was way down here next door the United States, and Alaska was up the end of the day was further north. Yeah, John is pretty low and if you're right, I think you know most people unless you look at a map, but you think Alaska and what you think of is the northern part, and Juno's, you know, all

the way further down. But um, so, so you know you said that he mentioned being did you say a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty miles southwest of Juno? I heard him say, talxed me a hundred and thirty just to be clear, yep, And um did he give you an I'm sorry After I got up there and and realized I was stupid that David was backwards, I kind of realized that he he wasn't where I thought he was because Joana mat back which they took

the little maps that drawed. The Air Force has got it somewhere up there, and so the map that you drew. Did he give you any other directions or indication other than just saying he was a hundred and thirty miles southwest of Juneo? No, he didn't have much time to give us anything. What did his what did he what did he sound like? What was his person? Did he sound upset? Was he angry? He needed help? He needed help because you could kill his voice and everything that

he was in trouble and we lost him. Do you remember the last thing that you heard from him? I think when he said that drew the mouth southwest of Junio, Alaska. And so after you heard this transmission, who did you contact? What happened afterward? He it rocks and the plane was slipping. He had three castles, And did you call the police

or who did you contact? We called Camp b Or I think it was they are based and they said they had it all already, and the next morning they had us meat at the air base and get on a plane and light and what was that experience like this? It was a plane ready I've never had. And they they throwed the seats out of that big plane. They throw it all the seats out of it, lightened it up and made room for us to get in it.

It was a fue legit. So they used And you said, the other men that flew up with you to Alaska, did you know any of them? Or were they all new to you. I thank Swamp Fox, I think was one of them moved with us, and I knew. I knew of him because I talked to him several times and when I went out when I won't buy Channel nine picked up. The last little part of what was going on, Uh, swamp Fox is when I went to first and I think Don Crawford, out of Mary Jane was one of the boys. Mm hmye h and uh

Don this type of person. You better be right because he don't want a much of bullshit. H he was, he was, he was drawing the radio. He picked it up from Channel nine and he hildered at me when because I'd already went by Channel nine when I first picked it up. And then I was trying to get somebody done help me because you can only hear so much in our radio. And the guy they did need help. And I still think he's between Juno and get your

can or somewhere down in there. And so when you went to Alaska, did they were they just asking you a million questions? Or what was that process like? In Alaska? We said for eighteen hours looking at pictures they had taken already with the planes, seeing if we recognize anything. Wait, they they had you look at pictures of of what gives We just went in an office type room and sit down and started looking and stuff. What were the pictures of? Most of them are shot from the airplane

from the marriage Yet, yes, when there's locate somebody. So they had you that you and the other Ham operators looking over photos that they had taken to see if you could spot the wreck. Yep, that seems kind of

seems kind of odd. Do you do you have any idea why they would ask you guys to do that in particular, Well, they're trying to get see if we recognize anything that we might have seen from the air and their postures and the thing about it is they they took a lot of pictures and did find that I think another plane they had been lost several before

upter in the ice. M hm. I don't know exactly what that when there was the understood the did located another plane, but it wasn't the one we were looking for. And you mentioned you mentioned Don Crawford, who was the first person that you mentioned. Uh, swamp Fox was his handle, swamp Fox. Do you remember his name? Not all hand I don't I slipsin? Do you buy any chance? Do you have a diary or any records from nineteen seventy two? No, I haven't died, had family problems and divorce and been

married everything else, and I I haven't. I've got a radio upstairs and attitude my work of get death boot out of it. And when when you heard this transmission? Where in California? What city were you living in? I was living in Due City, just out of Boreville, California. I had an Antennada built and I talked all over the world. Was it so? After they talked that, the

Air Force interviewed you guys. What the What Major Stalker, who was leading the search command, said was that they all believed the HAM operators that you guys were telling the truth, but they thought that the transmission was likely a hoax. What what do you think about that? Well, they they tried telling me that they was hoax. It wasn't right, But dang about it is. There was too many of us heard it, and I wonder snow connected.

There was one old man that wi this. I think he lived in Olive Hers or somewhere over there, and he took an he swore him down that we wish trying trying to pull a hoax, and then after he heard what went on Nipture, he wanted to know more about it too. I've still got I still got part of that radio upstairs in the attic. I agree if I could, if I could record it backwards, sure would for you. So you still have part of the radio receiver that you used when he received the transmission. I

talked from California to South Korea. I talked to uh ships off the coast of uh Alaska. I talked to ships and boats. Uh yeah, it was thank got for Korea. That was Curio Korea. At U S. Pennuccio took a ship years ago. They if it's a hoax, I want to know who where? And Hawaiian because of what I heard was somebody in stress warned out, huh. Well, the tower, the radio tower that you built, do you remember how tall it was or any details about it? That dantanna

you and the top of a cedar tree. Uh, probably a hundred pitch foot in here. And I apologize to ask this again, but when you first picked up the plane trans us and that was via the hand receiver, Uh yeah, it was only hand receiver. But it was on channel nine, which is CB channel. Interesting, Okay, I had a habit. In fact, a lot of C beers had to have it everything. We decided to change channel. You go by channel line and wait a few minutes.

See if there was anybody want to help, or maybe somebody run out of gas, maybe some man of flat I could I could pick that up on the radio. I went. I went by channel nine. I think I probably come off of twenty four or someone in them our other channels. I went by a channel nine and I heard this. He was he was in dressed, he was hutting through the mouth southwest of Alaska, of Juneral and he needed help. And I thought Junior was way upon the other end Asamashka, and I was wrong. Have

you ever been interviewed by a journalist before about this? Nope, So almost fifty years later, this is the very first time you've ever been interviewed about this. I've got a phone call here about a week ago. I want to know if I was a joke Katman Davis talking about and on radio. You know, one of the things since we're airing the show is that we're asking people for help. And I had one listener who helped me figure out that it was Donald not Ronald, so Don Crawford and um.

And then another listener who found you, and which is which is amazing because I've been looking for the longest time to try to speak to anybody, and like I said, you're you're You're the very last ham who's still alive. So if you, if you, if you, if you got a call all from Rancor. Yeah, the guy I worked for, his son is the one that called me and wanted to know if I was the one they was talking about. Uh huh and uh told me, yeah, I didn't. I was there Buka for that thing. I want to find

out if they valiant. Well what an experience. I'm really happy that I found you. I I like I said, you're the last one who is alive. And as far as I could tell, nobody ever recorded an interview with any of the others, and nobody recorded an interview with you, So it's a little little piece of history. I'm glad I had a chance to talk with you. Is is there anything else that you remember or any questions that you want to ask me? If you find out something

I want to know, Yes, sir, I will call you. Yeah, I kind of shot maybe they found something. Well, I'm looking for it. True. They kid told me wanting to know if I was to warn from l ask you they were looking for well cool, Okay, I appreciate it. Joe, I know, I know whoo who was now? Thank you by. You can reach us my phone at one eight three

three m I A tips. That's one eight three three six four two eight four seven seven again one eight three three six four two eight four seven seven, or you can reach us via email at tips at i heeart media dot com. That's tips, t I P s at i heeart media dot com. Ben Bowen is our executive producer. Paul Decan is our supervising producer, Chris Brown is our assistant producer, Seth Nicholas Johnson is our producer. Sam T. Garden is our research as assistant. And I'm

your host and executive producer, John Wallzac. You can find me on Twitter at at John Wallzac. J O n W A l c z A K special thanks to Ann Shepherd and Joe Tatum. Thank you also to the couple in Wyoming who connected me with Joe. They declined to be named on The show Missing in Alaska is a co production of i Heeart Media and Greenfork Media.