Lonnie Smith is upset with what he calls 'negative attention' created by a reporter from The Province newspaper.

In a letter written to Castanet, Smith takes exception with a series of articles written by Damian Inwood about the search for a missing Piper PA24 airplane.

In the articles, Inwood states using unnamed sources that people linked to the drug trade were offering rewards of up to $100,000 for the person who finds the plane first and that the reason for the rush to find it is believed to also be linked to the drug trade.

The plane in question went missing Tuesday night on a flight from Penticton to Victoria. It originally left Kelowna for Penticton before filing a flight plan for the provincial capital.

The missing plane is registered to a numbered Kelowna company owned by Rama Tello.

Tello, his brother and two other men were aboard the plane.

Below is the open letter obtained by Castanet.

Dear Mr. Inwood,
You should be ashamed of yourself by possibly turning the general public against the missing passengers of FLQS by making a slanderous and malicious statement about plane crash victims in your article on province news.

The reward poster clearly said "CALL PENTICTON POLICE". Now, does that follow suit to something that people would do if they were out trying to break the law? How many people actively involved in a drug transaction are begging people with information to come forward to the authorities?

We want the police and Search & Rescue crew to have as much information as possible in order to locate the missing plane. The precious cargo on board is the lives of 4 people with many loved ones worried about them. $10,000 is well worth a break in the case from a tipster. We commend the efforts of the authorities currently dealing with this matter however, maybe there is possibly somebody out there that maybe seen or heard something and a small reward could get the attention to make that life saving call.

Once again, I hope you understand that you have possibly turned many good, honest people away from caring about the lives of four passengers on this aircraft. Honestly, your statements regarding drugs and "word on the street" based reporting is very sad.

Mr. Inwood, please, if you or anybody you come in contact with have heard anything in regards to the whereabouts of missing plane tagged FLQS, please contact the Kelowna RCMP. Maybe we can have a better communicative relationship with each other in the near future. Keep the lines of communication open.


Please Help,
Not Hurt.


Lonnie Smith
Concerned Friend of the Missing Pilot

A dozen planes, both military and civilian will begin a fourth full day of searching for the plane.

The search is being concentrated in the area between Penticton and Chilliwack.