Searchers Find No Clues In Disappearance Of North Texas Newlyweds
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The family of a North Texas couple has launched a search after they disappeared on their way to get married in the Bahamas. Forrest Sanco and Donna Grant were flying a small plane to the island of Rum Cay, but two weeks have passed since anyone has seen or heard from them.
Donna's daughter-in-law, Erin Simmons, says the last time anyone saw the couple was when they refueled their airplane on the Bahamian island of North Eleuthera. The family said after trying to work with the government they've now hired a private company to try and find the couple.
"We were able to hire two separate private search-and-rescue teams with aircraft to scour the area," Simmons said, adding, "We've not heard any information yet."
Friends during high school in Oklahoma, Sanco's family said the pair had recently reconnected. Grant moved to White Settlement last month they said, ahead of the planned marriage.
The family believes the couple made it to Fort Pierce, FL, during the last week of September, with Grant piloting his small, single-engine plane.
An Instagram post from both of them shows a sunrise in the Bahamas, September 26, that followers comment appears to be Freeport. Sanco's family said they have information the couple made it to North Eleuthera the same day, before disappearing on their way to Rum Cay.
According to Simmons, the area where the couple disappeared is dotted with small islands, with many of them not even listed on maps.
Officials at the National Weather Service station nearest to the Sanco's flight route says there were thunderstorms in the area on the day the couple disappeared.
Sanco's family said their first clue something was wrong was when a friend called to say he hadn't returned to care for a cat. He worked as an electronics engineer for Lockheed Martin, but the company told the family he had not returned to work as scheduled.
"We were kind of just like, giving them space because they were on their honeymoon," said sister Sue McDaniel. "We were trying not to bug them."
The family has set up a fundraising site online to raise money to pay private search teams.
