LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas family is desperate for answers after a 65-year-old went missing on a routine flight in his plane.
On Jan. 2, Michael Martin went missing after taking off from the North Las Vegas Airport on his personal plane.
I went to his home and talked with his loved ones as they wait for word and hope for answers.
His daughter-in-law, Kathleen, told me Martin was an experienced pilot. He left work on his lunch break for another short flight— he often took those to relax and clear his head. This time, Martin never returned.
His family said his flight was intended to be a simple loop around Mount Charleston, but tracking data shows his plane's transponder stopped transmitting at 10,000 feet near Jefferson Peak, just north of Tonopah.
Later that week, the family reported him missing and found his Tesla still parked at the airport. Search teams from the Nevada National Guard, Civil Air Patrol and Red Rock Search and Rescue are now searching the Tonopah area, where his personal devices last pinged.
It's a really big mystery here for the family. A lot of concern, a lot of panic. We really just need to know where he is. We need to bring him home.
Martin has been a pilot since the early 2000s and is known for his love of travel. He also flew angel flights—helping transport critical patients to medical care.
Here's a photo of Michael Martin. He was last seen wearing khakis, a blue button-up shirt and a black fleece vest with his hair in a ponytail.
He is 65 years old and his six-seater white plane is a single-engine with blue and red stripes.
If you have any information, you are asked to call the Las Vegas Metro Police Department at 702-828-3111.
