A California hedge fund manager, his daughter and her friend were among four people on a small plane that went missing in Panama, the man's ex-wife said Tuesday.
Kim Klein told The Associated Press that bad weather and other obstacles were preventing rescue crews from looking for the plane, which may have crashed in the western province of Chiriqui.
Klein told The Associated Press during a phone interview from Boquete, Panama, that her former husband, Michael, was aboard the Cessna 172, along with their daughter, Talia, her friend Francesca Lewis of Santa Barbara and a Panamanian pilot, Edwin Lasso.
Michael Klein, 37, is the chief executive officer of Pacificore LLC, a Santa Barbara-based company that manages several hedge funds. He was on vacation with his 13-year-old daughter and her 12-year-old friend at Islas Secas, an eco-resort that he owns, Kim Klein said.
The plane disappeared after taking off Sunday from Islas Secas off Panama's Pacific coast, heading for the Chiriqui volcano, about 285 miles west of the capital.
The flight normally would have taken about 45 minutes, but controllers lost contact with the craft at about noon on Sunday.
Rain and fog hampered the search for the missing plane on Monday, officials said. The U.S. Embassy in Panama was closed for the holidays, making it difficult for Kim Klein and others to get help.
"We haven't found the plane yet. We have an idea of where it could be, but the weather isn't helping," said Roberto Velasquez, director of Panama's civil defense agency
Klein said she is offering $25,000 to anyone who can locate the aircraft.
"We really need anyone we can find to give us some ground help, any assistance to find them," Klein said.
She said the group was scheduled to return to California on Christmas Eve.
Michael Klein founded two companies in the 1990s before becoming president and CEO of eGroups Inc., which was the world's largest group e-mail communication service. Yahoo Inc. purchased eGroups for $450 million in August 2000 and is now known as Yahoo Groups.
Source: Associated Press - December 25, 2007