Elizabethton

Carter grew up in Elizabethton, Tenn., with his course firmly charted: He would play baseball at Duke, then go to dental school to become an endodontist.

He was cleared for higher and higher altitudes as the plane began its ascent from Elizabethton, Tennessee.

He said the emergency return destination would have been the airport in Elizabethton, Tennessee, where the flight took off from.

On Monday, officials said air traffic controllers lost contact shortly after takeoff with the pilot Sunday after the Cessna took off from Elizabethton, Tennessee at 1:13 p.m.

However, like the Maryland monument, the Elizabethton crosses have apparently been maintained by the city in the decades since, which might offset the origin issue, she said.