Published: September 11, 2008 08:00 pm      

Grave containing crash victims found

ST. JOSEPH -- A researcher investigating the 1950 crash of an airliner in Lake Michigan has found an unmarked grave that she believes contains the remains of some of the 58 victims.

Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 went down off the coast of South Haven on June 23, 1950, as it flew from New York to Minneapolis en route to Seattle, killing all 55 passengers and three crew members aboard the DC-4. The crash happened during a raging thunderstorm but no cause could be determined.

Valerie van Heest discovered that human remains washed ashore after the crash and were buried in an unmarked mass grave. They were interred in Riverview Cemetery without the knowledge of the victims' families.