at approximately 2:20 PM PST; the crew intended for Honolulu to be the next stop on their way to Hong Kong to win the Easterwood prize, although Erwin stated they would refuel in Hawaii and fly back to Oakland if they did not spot the missing aircraft on the westbound trip. Local ham radio operators convinced Erwin to take along the radio set from Pabco Pacific Flyer, a 50-watt transmitter powerful enough to allow the aircraft to stay in contact with other operators in California or Hawaii for the entire trip. Their last radio message, received at 9 PM that night, was that they were in a tailspin approximately out to sea. Dallas Spirit was also never seen again. Erwin's aircraft was reported to be from Hawaii at noon on August 20, but the report was not confirmed. , which was approximately away and searching for the other two missing aircraft when Dallas Spirit went down, proceeded to the spot where the last transmission was made, arriving less than three hours later. Hazelwood scoured a area of without finding any wreckage or flotsam from Dallas Spirit. By August 22, naval ships from California had met their counterparts who had left from Hawaii, with neither fleet finding a trace of the three planes. On August 23, green flares were spotted on the slope of Mauna Kea, but Army airplanes sent to investigate reported the flares were a new gasoline-powered light being tested by a rancher. At the time, the Navy's search operation was authorized to continue until August 23, then extended to August 25, after 16 ships were added to the search fleet, including . Ships were ordered to "Seek Till All Hope Gone" on the night of August 24. The estimated cost of the extra fuel used in the search was US$90,000, later revised to $135,000, with 8,000 sailors involved. A final accounting tallied the total cost at , of which was for fuel; the search covered an area of and involved 54 ships, which steamed a combined total of , and airplanes from Langley flew of search routes. On October 1, another tugboat was dispatched to the Johnston Atoll, approximately northwest of Hawaii, under the continued suspicion that Golden Eagle had overshot Hawaii or drifted past it after ditching in the ocean. After a thorough search, radioed that no trace of the missing aircraft had been found. Fragments and