More detail on this person: Missing Bremerton man, plane found in watershed
BY BRYNN GRIMLEY, Kitsap Sun (Bremerton) | • Published November 29, 2010
Comments BREMERTON - Ground crews searching in the 3,000 acre Bremerton Watershed discovered
the plane flown by Richard E. Nims on Sunday morning. Nims, 74, was also found dead inside the
aircraft, according to Kitsap County Sheriff's Office spokesman Scott Wilson.
Crews were searching the area surrounding the Bremerton National Airport on Saturday and Sunday
after receiving radar information that Nims may have been flying in the area after taking off from
Apex Airpark, a private airstrip outside of Silverdale. "It was radar tracking information
researched from Nov. 17 when he took off that led the coordinator for the search effort to focus on
that section of Kitsap County," Wilson said. Saturday's search was called off when it became dark,
but crews returned Sunday at 8 a.m.
Nims' plane was found at 11:25 a.m. on the hillside above and to the northwest of Casad Dam, located
within the Bremerton Watershed, Wilson said. A canine search and rescue outfit out of Pierce County,
found the plane. Two other search crews, the Explorer Search and Rescue of Kitsap County and
Olympic Mountain Rescue, also helped with the ground search.
Nims was reported missing by his family Nov. 23 after they went to his Silverdale home and he wasn't
there. He was last seen at the Apex Airpark on Nov. 17 where he kept his 2004 Citabria Scout
airplane. He was seen taking off from the airstrip between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m., according to an
initial investigation by the sheriff's office.
Missing Silverdale pilot found in wreckage of plane
Eleven days after missing pilot Richard E. Nims took off from a private airstrip near Silverdale,
Kitsap County, authorities Sunday found his body and his plane at a crash site in the woods near the
Casad Dam in Bremerton.
By The Seattle Times and Kitsap Sun
Related
Eleven days after missing pilot Richard E. Nims took off from a private airstrip near Silverdale,
Kitsap County, authorities Sunday found his body and his plane at a crash site in the woods near the
Casad Dam in Bremerton.
Nims, of Silverdale, was 74.
After several days battling rough weather, a team of more than 30 searchers, including a canine unit
and members of Olympic Mountain Rescue, found the downed 2004 Citabria Scout about 11:25 a.m.,
said Kitsap County sheriff's Deputy Scott Wilson.
Nims, a former commercial and military pilot, had purchased the plane just last month. No emergency
signal had been detected from his aircraft, but searchers led by the state Department of
Transportation's aviation division tracked the aircraft by researching archived radar data.
"It gave them reason to believe that was where the plane went down," Wilson said.
It's too soon to say what led to the crash, Wilson said. The National Transportation Safety Board
and Bremerton police will be conducting an investigation.
Nims took off from Apex Airpark in Silverdale on Nov. 17, but he hadn't filed a flight plan and
hadn't told anyone where he was headed or how long he'd be gone.
Members of Nims' family became concerned a few days later, when they discovered he'd left his dogs
unattended and hungry, which was unlike him, said his niece Melissa Micallef, of Port Orchard.
The family reported him missing, but last week's severe weather hampered efforts to track his
movements. Micallef got to the airport Wednesday and found Nims' Kenworth long-haul truck in the
parking lot. A worker at the airport remembered seeing Nims on the 17th. He was surprised Nims
didn't strike up a conversation as he usually does.
Micallef said there was nothing in her uncle's recent behavior that suggests he was distressed.
"I know he felt a little lonely, but he kept himself busy," she said.
Micallef described Nims as a private person. For the past 20 years, he'd shared a home with his
sister, Joan Cook. Cook, Micallef's mother, died of cancer in July. Nims had been her primary
caregiver for the last few months of her life.
After Cook's death, Nims "started being active and living life," Micallef said late last week. He
got a dog and continued to care for his sister's dog.
In October he bought the plane, said his sister Judy Young, of Seattle. Other recent major purchases
were a Corvette and a 2010 Jeep.
Young said she was thrilled to see her brother enjoying himself, after showing so much dedication to
Cook. He'd never seemed happier.
"He loved to fly," Micallef said. "He had a love of flying since he was a kid."
Nims had been an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam and a commercial pilot for Eastern Airlines. He
was experienced in flying small planes, Young said.
Seattle Times staff reporter Craig Welch and Kitsap Sun reporter Chris Henry contributed to this
story.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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