Myron "Dutch" G. Wegner
Former Local Man Killed in Western Airline Crash Firday
A former local resident, Myron G. "Dutch" Wegner, 27, Western Airline station manager at Cheyenne, was one of the nine people who died in the crash of the big Western Airlines plane Friday.
Mr. Wegner worked for Leslie Huff at the Lusk Municipal Airport for about a year during 1949 and 1950. Mrs. Betty Wegner worked in Lusk as a waitress during the same period.
Mrs. Ivan Predmore of Lusk was a sister-in-law of Mr. Wegner. Ivan Predmore was called to the scene of the accident to identify Mr. Wegner. Mr. Predmore is an employee at the Merit Cleaners in Lusk.
FORMER CAP MEMBER
Mr. Wegner was a former member of the C.A.P. here and that fact added significance to the search from Lusk. The search first started at 1:00 p.m. Firday when CAP Captain Thelma Scott was alerted by phone. Mrs. Scott, who is radio operator for the Lusk CAP Squadron immediately contacted Casper and Cheyenne to alert CAP squadrons there.
The search was intensive Saturday and Sunday with a large number of planes from this area joining. Among those participatig in the search either as pilots or observers were: George Dixon, Jesse Hunt, Bob Dorn, Bob Scott, Donald L. Taylor, Russell Sachau, Leslie Huff, Chuck Martin, Jack Pierce, Morris Ogle, Ronnie Jennewein, Leroy Christensen, E. L. Craig, and Jim Griffith, Jr.
The local CAP search covered the immediate area and some area to the north.
The plane was found late Sunday afternoon. It was completely demolished and all six passengers and three crew members were killed instantly. The cause of the crash has not yet been officially determined.