By Rolynda Jonathan
President Remengesau Jr. has created a special investigative team to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the missing Cessna 182P Skylane and its passengers.
On April 1, 2012, a Cessna 182P Skylane carrying American pilot Frank Ohlinger, and Palauan police officers Willie Mays Towai and Earl Decherong went missing after documenting a Chinese vessel that was set on fire outside of Kayangel State.
The President created the investigative team through a presidential directive saying that the investigation would offer recommendations on how to ensure that similar incidents do not occur again in the future in addition to giving families closure.
Pilot Frank Ohlinger (right)
Officers Earlee Decherong and Willy Mays Towai
CLICK HERE FOR A COPY OF THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST THE FISHERMEN
This tragedy is part of a series of events that began when a Kayangel fisherman spotted a suspicious vessel nearby. After he and other Kayangel officials were unable to confront the foreign fishing boat, Kayangel state governor Edwin Chiokai notified Palau Fish and Wildlife authorities who arrived at dusk to begin tracking the fishing boats in the early morning.
On Saturday, the Marine Law officers went to Kayangel’s conservation area in an attempt to apprehend the Chinese fishermen and their sea vessel. The fishermen tried to escape, and at one point attempted to ram the police boat. Police fired at the boat’s engines in an attempt to disable the vessel when a bullet reportedly ricocheted off the engine wounding one of the Chinese fishermen in two places. The Chinese fisherman later died of blood loss.
The Cessna airplane was sent to assist in the mission and identified the mother ship north of Kayangel. After being spotted by the plane, the mother ship pulled up anchor and began traveling northwest of Palau, pursued by Palau’s Pacific Patrol Boat Remeliik. Realizing they could not outrun the patrol boat, the crew of the mother ship set their own ship on fire and got into the two smaller support boats. The officers on the Remeliik attempted to put out the fire but were unsuccessful. The ship sank and the crew were arrested and now are being held in the Palau prison.
On Sunday April 1st, Palau’s Criminal Investigation Officers Earlee Decherong and Willy Mays Towai and Cessna Pilot Frank Ohlinger went on a 2nd “police mission” to photograph the site where the mother ship sank and thereby destroying all the evidence of what was onboard. OTV was told that this mission was for the purpose of aerial photography of the “debris” and the ashes of the burned mother ship.
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