BAHAMAS — A Pleasanton man is still unaccounted for after authorities found his missing plane miles away from the Bahamas, officials said Thursday.
Authorities have abandoned the search for 59-year-old Christopher Moore, who vanished after his plane disappeared just 50 miles outside of the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The single-engine plane was discovered Thursday about 40 miles north of Freeport, Bahamas, said Petty Officer Nicholas Strasburg of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Moore, who grew up in Pleasanton but was living in Louisville, Ky., has been missing since Sunday, the Pleasanton Weekly first reported this week. Strasburg said the Coast Guard first heard of Moore’s disappearance at about 12:30 p.m. Florida time on Sunday. The Coast Guard searched about 1,760 square miles for Moore and his plane but found nothing, Strasburg said.
The Coast Guard relinquished command of the search to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force on Sunday evening. He said the RBDF later abandoned the search at about 11 p.m. Monday night.
But according to Strasburg, the RBDF found a plane matching the description of Moore’s on Thursday afternoon. He said it is possible the RBDF found some “amplifying information” leading to the discovery of the missing plane.
It is unclear if Moore is presumed dead or still missing. The RBDF did not immediately return a request for comment.
The FAA said in a statement that it issued an alert for a single-engine BRM Aero Bristell plane that was reported overdue after departing on Sunday from Sebastian Municipal Airport in Florida. The plane’s last known position was approximately 50 miles northwest of Freeport, Bahamas, the FAA said.
Moore’s Facebook page shows he was an alumnus of Pleasanton’s Amador Valley High School, San Jose State University in 1989 and Seattle Pacific University in 1994.
His page also shows multiple trips to the Bahamas dating back to at least 2018, including trips to Little Harbor on the Bahamian island of Great Abaco.
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