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The True Story of a Canadian Legend

INTO THE MIST: FINDING CF-JDO

A mystery of the Canadian North decades in the making. The legend, the tragedy and the heroic recovery. Your journey starts here.

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About The Book

In August 1959, Flight Officer Raymond Gran and his passenger, Conservation Officer Harold Thompson, set out on a mission in Ray's Saskatchewan Government Airways Cessna 180. They never returned. 

Their loss sent shockwaves of grief through the community, and became the stuff of legend across a province where there's a rich and enduring tradition of propeller planes connecting communities. 

Ray's daughter Linda was born to Marcella just two months after Ray's plane disappeared, and mother and daughter kept the story alive. Decades later, Linda and her family mounted a quest to find the missing men.

Finding a lost plane in dense boreal forest dotted with countless lakes in northern Saskatchewan is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. With the help of people from all walks of life, from world-class divers and sonar experts to the resourceful villages near the crash site, Ray's family brought the lost souls home. 

Into the Mist weaves together spoken accounts that reveal the hardships and joys of life in the Canadian North of the 20th Century, and explores the extraordinary lengths two interlinked families went to find their loved ones.

LET’S WORK TOGETHER
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The Families...

In this book you'll learn about the families of the lost souls. Keeping hope alive through three generations, the Kapustas, Gran and Thompons embarked on a journey to locate the downed Cessna 180 CF-JDO after 59 years in Peter Pond Lake.

The family located both souls and their aircraft in 2018, starting a year’s journey towards their recovery.

The Experts...

A phenomenal team of experts were instrumental in finding CF-JDO, and in raising the aircraft, and in bringing this story to the page. ​You'll meet experts including world-class diver Mike Fletcher, sonar expert Garry Kozak  General Terrence Leversedge, and many others.

The Village...

The Dene people (transl. 'Human Being') are an Indigenous group of First Nations, upon whose land the tragedy occurred. In their words, learn about life in Michel Village, and the tragedy through the eyes of the community. The brave and resourceful inhabitants of Michel Village helped raise the plane in the eleventh hour of the rescue. ​

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ORDER THE BOOK

Into The Mist will be available for purchase soon at McNally Robinson in Saskatchewan. Please fill out the form to the right to get on the order list.

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A story like this is made possible through the seamless collaboration of experts, and the passion of loved ones. It also generates a lot of questions. We are available to provide answers. You can use this form to send your technical questions to sonar expert Gary Kozak, diving expert Mike Fletcher, and military and WWII expert Brigadier-General Terrence Leversedge. You can also ask the Gran and Kapusta families questions about the journey and mission. Please allow 1-2 weeks for an answer.

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