The actress' pregnant sister, brother-in-law and nephew died in a plane crash last month.
Megan Hilty is asking her fans for help. Weeks after the actress' pregnant sister, brother-in-law and nephew were killed in a plane crash, Megan took to Instagram to announce that she's launched a GoFundMe to raise enough money to hire a private company to search for several of her family members' bodies.
Megan shared the update on Instagram, speaking via voiceover as a photo of her sister, Lauren, and nephew, Luca, was shown.
"Hey everyone. By now many of you have heard about my family’s tragic loss. I’m reaching out now because we need your help," she began. "On September 4th, a Floatplane carrying four of our family members went down in Puget Sound off the coast of Whidbey Island and there were no survivors."
"On board was my sister, Lauren (who was 8 months pregnant with my nephew, Luca), my brother-in-law, Ross, and my two-year-old nephew, Remy," Megan continued. "When the [National Transportation Safe Board] brought up the plane, several victims were recovered, and thankfully Ross was one of them, but my beloved sister and nephews were not."
After Ross' body was found -- along with that of five other people onboard -- the NTSB "concluded its work," so it is now up to Hilty and her surviving family to hire a private company in an effort to locate Lauren, Remy and Luca's bodies.
"While the chances are slim, there is still a possibility we can find them, and we all agree that at the end of the day, we want to say we did everything we could to bring them home," she said. "But we can’t do this alone. As you can imagine, a search and recovery mission of this magnitude comes at a tremendous cost. We have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise the money to cover these costs."
Megan noted that, if she's able to raise more than her $50,000 goal, the remaining funds will be donated "to the incredible team who have dedicated their lives to helping families like ours search for their loved ones."
"Please consider supporting us in our final efforts to bring Lauren, Remy & Luca home if you can," she concluded. "In any case, I speak for my entire family when I say thank you for your love, support and generosity during this incredibly challenging time. Be well, and thank you."
Just one hour after Megan posted about the GoFundMe, it had raised more than $16,000. Megan's Smash co-star, Katharine McPhee, as well as actress Rachel Zegler and comedian Bridget Everett, are among those who have donated to the cause.
Megan posted on Instagram days after the tragedy, writing in part, "The last three days have been the worst of our lives. There are truly no words to appropriately convey the depth of our grief."
"The outpouring of love and support has meant so much to everyone in our family," she added. "It has been so comforting to know just how loved Lauren, Ross, Remy and Luca truly are."
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