September 9, 2024
For Immediate Release
Contact: Chief Erik Costa, 860-638-4100

News Release - Missing Person Update/Plane Crash

On September 8, 2024 at approximately 7:15pm, the Middletown Police Department received a missing person complaint for two Middletown residents. The caller reported that 51-year-old Susan Vanness and her daughter, 15-year-old Delilah Vanness, departed Windham Airport that morning and were traveling to Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburgh, Vermont. Delilah Vanness was taking flight lessons with 55-year-old Paul Pelletier of Columbia, CT and they were accompanied by 88-year-old Francisco Rodriguez of Lebanon, CT.

When the occupants did not return to Connecticut at their scheduled time, the family grew concerned and the police were notified. The Middletown Police obtained the last known location of the occupants’ cell phones and determined that location to be in the area of the Basin Harbor Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Vermont State Police were notified and provided with the last known location of the phones. Tragically, investigators located the plane in a wooded area near the airport and all four occupants died as a result of the crash.

The crash is being investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board with the assistance of the Vermont State Police.  

During the course of this investigation it was determined that Paul Pelletier was the Aviation Technology teacher at Middletown High School and Delilah Vanness was one of his students. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family, friends, and students who were affected by this tragedy.