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Dear family and friends,
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!  As you know Steve and I, the Spradlins, and local volunteer pilots fly daily to find our sons and their pilot.  Though the local pilots are excellent, the terrain does not lend itself to close intimate search by plane.  To do a better search of ravines and forested areas we need helicopters which run about $3500 per day.  Needless to say, neither family can afford to put a few helicopters in the air each day, it is just cost prohibitive. Government help is essential.  We need each of you and all your friends to email or write your U. S. Senators and Representatives requesting helicopter support for our searchand permission from the National Park Service to land these helicopters if necessary (up to now they have denied such requests).  If you have not gotten a reply in 3 to 4 days, please call your elected U. S. Officials personally; their phone numbers are on their web sites.  So far, the only ground searches have occurred on the Pacific coast, nothing inland at all.  The "official" search began on 8/21 and ended on 9/3.  During this time, on several days neither the weather nor visibility was good.  For the last 10 days, the weather and visibility here have been exceptional.  Time is crucial, a heavy snow will prohibit our searches.  I have included links below to make this easier for you:
 
Florida U. S. Senators
 
lemieux.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorLeMieux
 
billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
 
All U. S. Senators
 
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
 
 
 
All U. S. Representatives
 
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml


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It has been nearly two weeks since the families and friends of Mason, Neal, Seth & Marco began coordinating the rescue efforts.  Since that time we have rallied many volunteer pilots into the air, their planes fueled by your generous donations. 

And we are hopeful.  Through the hundreds of prayers and stories and well-wishes - we are hopeful.  With the strength of all the NPS Rangers and coworkers and classmates and neighbors and all the people connected to Mason and his friends - we are hopeful.

We Will Find Them.


Family members of the Park Rangers have also offered a private reward that his risen from $15,000 to $65,000 from the generosity of an uncle of one of the Park Rangers. The private reward is separate from the efforts of our donation fund. 


Please go to the Donate Now! page in order to make a contribution to our efforts.  You may also want to check back to this page often as we will be updating the site regularly.

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On Saturday, August 21st, a plane carrying Mason Mcleod, his National Park Service coworkers Neil and Seth Spradlin, and pilot Marco Alletto was lost in the Katmai National Park on the southwestern coast of Alaska. 


Mason McLeod, 26, is a Jacksonville, FL native. He attended Stanton Prep and Florida State University before venturing out to Alaska to fulfill a life long dream. Mason has never been the type to sit behind a desk, he is a survivalist.

Neal Spradlin and his younger brother are both from Westfield, IN. Neal is adventuresome and loves to mountain climb. For the past five years, Neal has been a resident of Alaska and a permanent employee at Katmai.

Seth has joined his brother and Mason for the past two summers in Katmai to save money for college. Seth is an artist specializing in acrylic wildlife paintings.

All three boys are very close friends and have trekked the mountains in Alaska numerous times. If any three boys can survive this -- it will be them.

While we have begun seeking donations at this time, the support from family, friends and well-wishers cannot be underestimated -- your kind words and comments is so important to everyone involved.  We are asking for your support.  We are asking your family and friends' support.  Every positive thought can make a difference for the families of Mason and the crew, and for the search and resuce efforts that will help to Bring Them Home.