Mitchell named Pacificor CEO

Michael B. Klein, chief executive of Santa Barbara, Calif. hedge fund Pacificor LLC, died after his private plane crashed in Panama on Sunday, according to published reports. The crash also claimed the lives of Mr. Klein's 13-year-old daughter, Talia, and Panamanian pilot Edwin Lasso, according to Bloomberg. Francesca Lewis, a 12-year-old friend of Mr. Klein's daughter, survived and was airlifted to a hospital in Panama with a broken arm and hypothermia, according to the Associated Press. The private plane, a Cessna 172, crashed about 270 miles west of Panama City, but aviation authorities said that the cause was still unknown, according to Bloomberg. On Tuesday, the Klein family offered a $25,000 reward for information to locate the plane, but Panamanian rescue crews discovered the three bodies later that day, according to MarketWatch. Mr. Klein, 37, and the group were last seen alive on Dec. 23, taking off from Islas Secas, a Pacific Ocean island owned by the hedge fund manager, Bloomberg said. The four were headed for an airport in Volcan, Chiriqui Province when the aircraft's signal disappeared from radar screens. Pacificor tuesday named portfolio manager Andy Mitchell to helm the hedge fund, according topublished reports.