A Kansas businessman, his wife and their four children were killed Thursday when their small plane crashed into a swampy area of central Florida, and word quickly spread to their hometown where the family was known for their charitable work and always having a house full of neighborhood kids.
The single-turboprop, fixed-wing plane was heading home to Junction City from the Bahamas when it broke apart and went down about 12:30 p.m. in the Tiger Creek Preserve, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Florida.
Deputies reached the area by helicopters, but it was clear there were no survivors, the sheriff's office said. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known, and parts of the plane were found nearly 3 1/2 miles away, investigators said.
Ron Bramlage, a prominent businessman in Junction City who owned Roadside Ventures LLC, was piloting the 2006 Pilatus Pc-12/47. The 45-year-old, his wife, Rebecca, 43, and the couple's children – Brandon, 15; Boston, 13; Beau, 11; and 8-year-old Roxanne – were killed.
"It's just a horrific loss," Junction City Mayor Pat Landes said, adding that the couple supported many local projects and provided college scholarships. The family was well known in town and at Kansas State University, where the basketball arena is named for Ron Bramlage's grandfather.
At least two dozen bouquets of flowers lined the black wrought-iron fence surrounding the family's ranch-style home by Thursday evening. A trampoline sat in the front lawn, and a hammock hung between two large trees in the wooded yard.
Standing in his front yard across the street, Rick Bazan said he'd been friends with Ron Bramlage since childhood. He said his friend would often help local families financially, such as paying for kids to go to wrestling camps if their parents couldn't afford to send them.
He said Rebecca, who was president of the local school board, "never stopped working. She was tireless." She would be embarrassed by the outpouring of support now at her home, where at least a half-dozen friends of the couple's children were always running around, Bazan said.
"It's going to be a long time getting over this one," he said as he watched the family's neighbors and friends gather outside.
Bella Omann, 14, who went to middle school with the two younger boys, said Beau "was really the funniest kid I've ever met." She had an advanced geometry class with Boston, whom she said "loved reading books. We would always talk about our favorite books," including the Harry Potter novels. He read so much, she said, that their teacher wouldn't allow extra material on students' desks to keep him from reading.