Three from Oregon family missing in Indonesia plane crash

PORTLAND — An Oregon mother awaited word today on the fate of her two daughters and former husband, all three aboard a plane that an Indonesian official said was believed to have crashed into the sea.

Stephanie Jackson, 21, and Lindsey Jackson, 18, both from Bend and students at the University of Oregon, were reported visiting their father, 54-year-old Scott Jackson, a wood-products company executive who lives part time in Indonesia, Brazil and Oregon.

After reports that the plane had crashed in a mountainous area and that a dozen survivors had been found turned out to be erroneous, Indonesians searched by air and sea for the Adam Air jetliner.

"Search efforts have expanded, they're more sophisticated ... but they haven't discovered anything as far as they've told me," said the girls' mother, Felice Jackson DuBois of Bend. "It's still a zero at this point."

The Jackson sisters and their father were believed to be the only Americans aboard the flight operated by Indonesia-based Adam Air.

The plane sent out two distress signals in stormy weather Monday. With 102 people aboard, it was halfway through a two-hour flight from Indonesia's main island Java to Manado, on the northern tip of Sulawesi, one of the largest islands.

The head of Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency said today that based on radar and satellite readings he thought it most likely the plane had gone into the sea.

Stephanie Jackson is a senior majoring in pre-med, and Lindsey Jackson is studying marine biology, Felice DuBois said.

``Any time I hear that they're going on an airplane, yes, I'm scared,'' DuBois told The Oregonian newspaper. ``But you can't live your life guided by your fears. You just want to hold out hope.''

DuBois said her daughters sent her an e-mail that said ``Happy New Year'' shortly before takeoff.

DuBois, who is divorced from Scott Jackson, described her daughters as adventurers who have lived and traveled overseas since they were young.

Scott Jackson is president director of P.T. Fendi Mungil, an Indonesian manufacturing company that makes rattan furniture, said Sheryl Webb, the company's international sales manager.

Initially, officials said 12 people had been found alive at a crash site on Sulawesi's mountainous western coast. But rescue teams found nothing. The government later recanted the reports, saying the earlier statements had been based on the unconfirmed accounts of villagers.

``It's hard to ferret out the rumor from the facts,'' DuBois said. ``All we can do is wait.''

A brother, Greg, 20, was with his sisters on the winter break trip, but returned last week, The Oregonian said. Another brother, Brian, 18 is Lindsey's twin, the Bulletin said.