Nicholas Joseph Begich

• Missing Since 10/16/1972
• Missing From Alaska, Alaska
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 04/06/1932 (92)
• Age 40 years old
• Height and Weight 5'6 - 5'10, 150 - 175 pounds
• Associated Vehicle(s) Twin-engine Cessna 310 plane with the FAA registration number N1812H
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Begich's nickname is Nick.

Details of Disappearance

Begich, a Democrat, was the U.S. Representative At-Large for Alaska in 1972. He had been born in Minnesota and had served in the Alaska state senate for eight years before joining Congress.

Begich and his fellow Congressman Thomas "Hale" Boggs were on a campaign fund-raising tour when they took a twin-engine Cessna 310 plane with the FAA registration number N1812H on a flight from Anchorage, Alaska to Juneau, Alaska. They were accompanied by the pilot, Don Jones, and Begich's aide, Russell L. Brown. Photographs and vital statistics for Brown are unavailable.

Weather conditions along the route were not conducive to flying, and the plane disappeared near the Chugach mountain range somewhere in southeast Alaska. Despite a massive search lasting over a month, the men and the plane were never located. Begich was reelected to a second term in the House of Representatives during the search; he was declared dead on December 29, 1972 and a special election was held to fill his place.

Although the circumstances indicate that Boggs, Begich, Brown and Jones perished in an accidental crash, their disappearances have been the subject of many conspiracy theories due to their positions. Rumors that the two Congressmen were assassinated have never been substantiated and their cases remain unsolved.