Authorities: Search suspended for missing Las Vegas pilot. Investigation will continue

Search and rescue efforts have been suspended for a Las Vegas man who disappeared earlier this month after taking off from the North Las Vegas Airport, authorities said.

Nye County Director of Emergency Management Scott Lewis said the search was suspended as of Thursday morning, but the investigation remains open and is being led by the Metropolitan Police Department.

Michael Martin, 65, an experienced, licensed pilot who owned his 1960s Piper plane, was last seen Jan. 2, according to his family and officials.

Daughter-in-law Kathleen Martin previously said his plane took off at 10:51 a.m., but his flight transponder stopped transmitting at 11:15 a.m. At 12:06 p.m., she said, his phone last pinged near Tonopah, and at 12:26 p.m., his iPad — which he used as a navigation aid — and his Apple Watch last showed him near Mount Jefferson, about 50 miles from Tonopah.

She said his family initially believed he’d had a stressful holiday season and was taking a one- or two-day break in a local hotel, but they reported him missing the evening of Jan. 5 because they couldn’t get in touch with him.

Martin’s family thanked people who offered them support and the agencies involved in searching for him in a statement that Kathleen Martin provided on behalf of Martin’s daughter, Katie Martin-Perry.

“We continue to ask you to keep my family in your prayers that my Dad returns home safely,” the statement said. “I know my Dad is alive and out there somewhere, hoping for his safe return home.”

According to Lewis, Martin did not appear to have established a flight plan.

Lewis said investigators scoured hundreds of square miles from the air, with ground searchers and using cadaver dogs but found no physical evidence. The search area included the Jefferson Mountain Range, the Moores Creek area and the Yomba Shoshone tribal area, he said.

If there are new developments, Lewis said authorities could send searchers out again.

Martin is an aerospace engineer and president of Erickson International, a window film manufacturer in Las Vegas.

“He was always very punctual, never missed a day without reason, always told me where he is and what he does,” said Pierre Chraghchian, CEO and majority owner of Erickson. “All this is a shock.”

Erickson operations employee Don Gist called Martin an intelligent leader. Gist said he had talked with Martin about his pilot training and plane.

“He would pay very close attention to other mishaps with pilots and he would analyze those,” he said.

Gist said that on Jan. 2 he talked with Martin about a project they had to work on together.

“We’ll do it in the afternoon, after lunchtime,” Gist said Martin told him at about 9:15 a.m.

Chraghchian, who lives in Los Angeles, considered Martin a friend. Martin’s job was essentially to run the operations at the Las Vegas manufacturing facility and the two men were constantly in touch, he said.

Martin, a minority owner of the company, never complained and “was a very private person,” according to Chraghchian.

“I depended the company on him,” he added. “He had full access to everything. That’s how much I trusted him and in fact I still do.”

He said he was probably last in touch with Martin before Christmas. Martin came to work the morning of Jan. 2 and left work around 10:30, he said.

Chraghchian said Martin told coworkers he’d be back after lunch, but never returned. He thinks Martin left the office knowing he wasn’t coming back, at least not that day.

“The best case scenario is he’s sipping tequila somewhere in a nice beach,” Chraghchian said. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s the reality. All I know is it seems like we need to deal with a new chapter without Mike.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.