Silvore Fox director missing, presumed dead

A Silvore Fox Minerals (SFX-V) director is presumed dead after the plane he was flying disappeared off the coast of Nova Scotia on Aug. 5.

Silvore Fox’s Ron Johnston, 57, was hired as a pilot by the aircraft’s owner, Dennis Forgeron, 43, to fly him from Toronto to his native Sydney, N.S.

The search for wreckage continues but rescue efforts were called off on Aug. 7 when it was presumed neither man could have survived a crash. The Chronicle Herald reports that Sydney RCMP are now treating the case as a missing persons investigation.

The weather in Sydney was stormy and foggy when the aircraft tried to land. Air traffic control directed the plane to circle around and try again. The plane then disappeared from radar.

Forgeron, CEO of Calgary-based Forent Energy (FEN-V), had just bought the eight-seat Cessna 414 a week earlier. Both Johnston and Forgeron were members of the Calgary Flying Club and were experienced pilots.

According to Silvore Fox, Johnston was on his way to a board of directors meeting at the time of the crash. Silvore Fox is based in Bedford, N.S., and its flagship Coxheath project, is on Cape Breton.