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Gene Nattress, courtesy of Alida Nattress.

“He was a tough dude,  carried a .357 magnum, and lived for flying.”

  So described Alida Nattress, the daughter-in-law of the pilot of this B-25, Gene Nattress. In several communications with me, Alida described her 20 year search for a father-in-law she never knew. Gene Nattress had disappeared on April 5, 1966, when his son, Alida’s future husband, was just a boy.
   The 36 year old Nattress was flying his treasured B-25 Mitchell bomber N92877 en route from Miami to Aruba, West Indies, with a load of frozen chickens, eggs, and plane parts. He checked in at Bimini island, then was heard over Andros to report all was well.

   His next stop was Great Inagua, a common halfway point for aircraft flying to and from Puerto Rico and Miami. However, he never arrived at Great Inagua. He had sent no Mayday to indicate a problem, and a search found no trace of his aircraft.
   Nattress was a very experienced pilot, with some 4,000 flight hours experience and 1,500 in B-25s. But this does not tell the whole story.
   Alida became curious about her father-in-law in 1980 because of information that circulated in the family. “Around that time he had been flying into Havana, Cuba, per his logbook but we have yet to know who he was working for since Cuba was closed to Americans. It is the general feeling of the whole family that Gene would do anything for a thrill and would carry any questionable cargo for money.”  

  Alida’s investigation took her next to the plane’s owners, Kimex Corp—Hank and Chris Goodman. “Gene flew regularly to Nicaragua, Guyana, Jamaica, Belize delivering cargo for Kimex. Kimex owned the cargo, would trade products often — frozen chicken for frozen lobsters.”
  On his last trip Gene was accompanied by George Golas, who apparently “owned a bush plane company there and often came to Florida for plane parts.” After he would drop off his cargo at Aruba, he planned to take Golas to Guyana. At the last minute a 17 year old boy, Ken Pekin, came

Nattress and Goodman before N92877 at George Town, Great Exuma, circa 1965. Courtesy of Alida Nattress.

along for fun. “My mother-in-law said that when the disappearance came to light, the mother of Ken called her screaming, blaming her for the loss of her son. To date I haven't located her and there doesn't seem to be a Social Security death listed for him either.”
   Alida met with more dead ends in trying to figure out just what Gene had been up to in the Caribbean during his many earlier cargo runs.  One lead was the plane’s owner, Hank Goodman. Be “he died in 1979 attempting to land in Jamaica and to date no one, including the co-pilot, understands how they crashed but we believe it wasn't an accident . . . and people associated always clam up, like it's a big secret. I strongly feel that Hank's accident wasn't an accident. I know it sounds paranoid but many things have occurred to have me think this.”

   Several rumors later came to Alida’s attention. “Then about 2 years ago (1998) a man walked into my husband's shop at work, said he was told by someone— wouldn't say who— that we were looking for Gene Nattress, who he claimed he knew was flying reconnaissance for the U.S. in the 60's and thought was captured by the Cubans in 1966 when he disappeared. (The Swiss Ambassador in '66 had said there were war games occurring on the Havana side and that he may have been captured at that time . . . said they checked it out and said he was not a prisoner.) Then my husband started to tell him about the plane's owner. The guy said 'Yeah, Hank Goodman. He was killed in '79. We know all about it but it wasn't an accident'. He claimed he was ex-CIA and now a P.I. We made arrangements to meet with him but he canceled and since disappeared himself. Several of the people I've worked with in my search think the guy was a fake and was tipped off by someone that knew him & my husband or something. I don't know. Just think it all weird.”
   I should note I have attempted to find the accident report to this incident in 1979 but could not locate anything that corresponds with what Alida was told.
   Gene Nattress and his B-25, George Golas and young Ken Pekin, completely disappeared in 1966. This incident has hitherto been given only a line in any book. But as most disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle, this is often only the tip of the iceberg; some 35 years later, the chase for this mystery still goes on.

  “I do believe in the Triangle,” wrote Alida, “ but in this situation I've always felt he was still alive and believe I may have located him but haven't been able to confirm this to my complete satisfaction. His best friend, my husband's cousin, had slipped and mentioned he was actually flying in another direction. Now he won't confirm or deny what he said to me.”
   Wherever Gene Nattress flew off to, if he did indeed, it is certain his very distinctive B-25 has not been reported elsewhere. Perhaps the Triangle played a part after all and the plane vanished for unknown reasons. Perhaps Nattress is still alive.
   Either way it is yet another mystery and adventure in the Bermuda Triangle.

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