Body of Detroit Salt Co. president found in Lake Michigan

Frankfort —  The body of a man who was aboard a small plane that disappeared May 12 over Lake Michigan has been found, authorities said Thursday.

Michigan State Police said its Marine Services Team located the body of Emanuel Manos, 53. Authorities continue to search for the plane's pilot, Randal Dippold, 65, of Perry, they said.

Manos was president of the Detroit Salt Co., a supplier of bulk road salt in the Midwest. He joined the company in 1997 and became president in 2010, according to the Michigan Manufacturers Association.

Dippold is the owner of Airservice Enterprise Inc., a flight training service based in Howell.

Thursday's news comes about a week after the Marine Services Team found the Beech Craft Bonanza 35 in which the two men were flying in Lake Michigan about 4.5 miles off the coast of Frankfort and in about 515 feet of water. Frankfort is about 260 miles northwest of Detroit.

More: Officials: Plane missing over Lake Michigan found near Frankfort

Officials said Thursday they found Manos' body using an autonomous underwater vehicle at about 8 p.m. Wednesday slightly southeast of the plane and in water that is about 523 feet deep.

His body has been turned over to the the county medical examiner's office. 

According to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report, the plane had left an airport in Ontonagon County in the Upper Peninsula and was en route to Monroe when the pilot declared an emergency due to engine failure while over Lake Michigan at about 5:49 p.m. on May 12. 

The pilot attempted to divert to Frankfort Dow Memorial Airport, the report said. Radar and radio communications were lost when the airplane was about four nautical miles west of the airport.

It also said the water's depth in the area is about 600 feet and the water temperature varied between 39 degrees and 42 degrees based on buoy readings.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez