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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