Tears of joy and tears of sadness mixed Tuesday with the return to Utah of two survivors of Sunday's plane crash off the coast of Alaska, even as family and friends mourned the four who did not come back.
"I was in heaven," Stephanie Gunn said after greeting her husband, Ben, at Salt Lake City International Airport. "It's a miracle."
Michelle Shumway, the wife of survivor Khyl Shumway, echoed her sentiments — while admitting to mixed emotions.
"I'm so happy," she said of the safe return of her husband of six months. But at the same time she knew her father, Gary Ostler, who was piloting the plane, and her brother Christopher Ostler were still missing, as are two Utah brothers, Gordon Moses and Adam Moses.
"This side of the story has comforted me so that my mind isn't mourning for my dad and brother quite yet," Michelle Shumway said.
Ben Gunn and Khyl Shumway returned home to Utah Tuesday to an emotional scene at the airport, even as family members remembered those who are lost. Gunn was wearing a neck brace and a soft cast on his right leg. There was a large cut above his right eye, which was still swollen, and a cut above his lip. Shumway escaped the crash physically unscathed.
Friends carried balloons and signs saying "Welcome home" and "We love you" as the parents and spouses of the survivors wept and ran to them at the airport gate. The two survivors also could not hold back their tears as they were quickly surrounded by loved ones eager to hug them.
"This is the best feeling ever. I've been looking forward to it ever since I started swimming," Shumway said.
Search suspended
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for the four missing men Monday night.
"We searched every square inch of Eagle Point," said Chief Petty Officer Roger Wetherell. "They combed every inch of that (island) and found nothing. If they had made it to shore it's likely we would have found them."
The two brothers-in-law were rescued Monday after the Cessna 401 plane they were in ran out of gas near Gustavus, west of Juneau, and attempted an emergency landing into the icy water.
When the group realized they were out of gas, Shumway said he was in denial.
"I said we'll make it, we'll be OK," he said.
When it was evident they were going to crash, Shumway said he braced himself so he wouldn't fly forward. Nevertheless, he said each person in the plane blacked out at least momentarily when the plane hit water. Shumway believes he was out about 30 seconds because when he regained consciousness there was already a foot of water in the aircraft.
Before the plane hit the water, Shumway said he noticed an island out of the corner of his eye and thought to himself that that's where he needed to swim if he was able to get out.
Shumway said he, Gunn and both Ostlers made it out of the plane. Before they got out, he said he remembered Adam Moses kept repeating that he had to get his brother. From there, Shumway said he can't remember a lot about what happened.
Saving each other
Once he was out of the plane, Shumway said, pure determination took over.
"There was no question in my mind I had to make it to that island," he said.
Swimming just an earshot away was his brother-in-law Gunn, who was battling a badly sprained ankle and a swollen eye in addition to the 53-degree water.
For what may have been as long as 90 minutes, the two kept swimming and encouraging each other. Gunn kept yelling to Shumway, "Are we there yet?" And Shumway would repeatedly reply, "No. We're close. Keep swimming," even though he wasn't sure himself how much longer they could hold out.
"I think we saved each other's lives," Shumway said.
About 50 yards into their swim, Shumway said he shed his pants and shirt, which were slowing him down. He said he was able to swim much more easily at that point. After Shumway and Gunn reached the shore of the nearby island, he said they shared what remaining clothes they had to keep warm and then fell asleep from exhaustion for about eight hours. When they awoke, they tried to flag down ships in the distance. Finally, after waving his arms at one fishing boat for more than 15 minutes and believing the boat had passed without spotting them, Shumway said the boat sounded its horn and turned around.
"We broke down crying. We knew then we were safe," he said. "I knew if (Ben and Khyl) survived the crash they would fight," said Gunn's father, Greg Gunn. "I knew Ben would fight. They made it because they wanted to make it."
'Excited to go'
Both Gordon and Adam Moses are believed to have gone down with the plane, which sank into water estimated at 250 feet deep.
The six on the plane, related by blood, through marriage and through their work, were hoping to share an adventure. Gordon Moses, for one, hadn't seen the ocean in 10 years before the trip to Alaska — and had never ridden in a small plane.
"He was so excited to go," said stepsister Stephanie Gunn. "He had never been on a big trip like this before."
Stephanie Gunn said her husband, Ben, told her that Gordon Moses was apparently knocked unconscious by the impact. His brother, Adam, quickly tended to Gordon.
"He was probably very capable of surviving," Stephanie Gunn said of 19-year-old Adam, "but he couldn't leave without his brother."
"Adam gave his life to save his brother, Gordy," said Annemarie Moses, an aunt.
She will remember Gordon best as a doting father of two young children, who worked at a Village Inn to put his wife through college. "He was really fun," Annemarie commented. "He was very artistic."
Adam, who has a twin brother serving an LDS Church mission in Germany, worked for his stepfather, Gary Ostler. Though his mother, Krista, married Gary Ostler about a year ago, Adam Moses quickly took to him — especially after Gary Ostler gave him a restored car for high school graduation.
Sacrifices and heroes
Khyl Shumway said he doesn't know what happened to Gary or Christopher Ostler. They reportedly were last seen trying to hold onto a backpack in the water.
Based on her husband's account, Stephanie Gunn believes her father sacrificed his life to stay with the others.
"I think my dad is one of the biggest heroes," she said.
Ben told her that Chris Ostler made it out of the plane but seemed unable make a plan. Not wanting to leave his son, Gary Ostler stayed behind.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com; lsanderson@desnews.com