Jerry Krause vanished while flying from South Africa to Mali in 2013.
The family of a Minnesota man thought to be dead after his plane disappeared during a missionary trip four years ago says new evidence suggests he is actually alive and has been spotted.
Jerry Krause vanished while flying from South Africa to Mali in 2013.
“All contact was lost on his approach to Sao Tome, a small island off of the coast of Africa,” his family wrote on their Facebook page, Find Jerry.
It was a reportedly routine flight for Krause, who had served as a missionary pilot in Africa since 1989, where he and his wife Gina were raising their three kids, his daughter, Jessica, told CBS Minnesota.
“I thought, ‘Just give it some time and it’s all going to be okay,’” Krause’s youngest daughter told the television station. “Now it’s been close to four-and-a-half years.”
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No concrete evidence of the Waseca native or his Beechcraft 1900C was located and Krause was later declared dead, his family wrote on Facebook.
“Nevertheless, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (the governing authority over the aircraft incident) published their official report that Jerry Krause crashed and that Jerry Krause was dead,” a post on the Facebook page read. “The Krause family did not believe that Jerry was dead, but they had no evidence to support their belief.”
That has since changed, the family said.
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They posted the South African government has removed their official report from public record due to “new evidence,” to which they allege they have been denied access.
But Krause's relatives believe the evidence shows he is alive.
They added that they believe the U.S. government knows his location, but would need to sign off on any rescue attempt, and urged supporters to contact their senators and representatives to push an effort through.
No group has ever claimed responsibility for allegedly kidnapping Krause.
Neither the Krause family nor the South Africa Civil Aviation Authority have returned messages from InsideEdition.com seeking comment.
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