Michael Klein and Daughter Talia Klein Killed in Panama Plane Crash

Posted on: December 25th, 2007 by: Meg

Michael Klein, 37, who sold his e-Groups e-mail communication service to Yahoo, was killed in an airplane crash in Panama. Also killed were his 13 year old daughter Talia, and the pilot Edwin Lasso.

The sole surviver of the crash, Francesca Lewis, the 12 year old friend of Talia, had traveled with the Klein’s to their eco resort in Central America. She is being treated for exposure, hypothermia and multiple traumas.

According the Klein’s ex-wife, Kim Klein, the three were scheduled to return to Santa Barbara, California on Monday in time for the Christmas holiday.

Kim Klein traveled to Panama when the plane was reported missing on Sunday and offered a $25,000 reward for anyone that could locate the downed plane. Dense tropical foliage, mountainous terrain and heavy rains hampered the search efforts. The wreckage was located on Tuesday.

Klein was currently CEO of Pacificor LLC, which manages hedge funds. In the 1990’s, he was president and CEO of e-Groups, the worlds largest e-mail communication service. He sold the business to Yahoo, Inc. for $450 million in August 2000. The company is now known as Yahoo Groups.

We’ve included two other photos. One of father and daughter, the other of survivor Frankie Lewis.