Father killed in Butler crash lived adventurously. ‘Anything dangerous you loved it’
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- Dane Cordes was one of 12 killed in a single-engine plane crash in Butler, Missouri.
- Friends and family described Cordes as an adventurous skydiver and rider.
- A memorial ride and fundraiser for Cordes’ family are scheduled this Saturday.
Dane Cordes was an adrenaline junky and, according to those who knew him, was someone who liked fast cars, fast bikes, water sports and skydiving.
Cordes was one of 12 people killed in a plane crash on Sunday in Butler, Missouri. Officials said the single-engine plane wasn’t able to make it to full power, causing the crash.
Family and friends described Cordes as a man who made friends easily and lifted the spirits of those around them. Cordes had become an avid skydiver, according to friends and family.
“To know Dane was to love Dane. His laugh and smile can light up a room. Dane was far from a boring ordinary guy. He was spontaneous and always us and ready to do the next wild adventure,” Natalie Sickle-Cordes, said in a statement.
Cordes’ owned We Care Tree Care, according to the Better Business Bureau, where he would climb and cut trees in Independence and his home of Richmond.
The 26-year-old was born in Detroit and moved to Richmond when he was a teenager. He was an “above and beyond dad to his two boys Atlas and Benson,” Sickle-Cordes said.
“I will make sure our boys know that their dad was a selfless, determined anchor in this world. May your beautiful soul rest in peace when you ride or fly through the pearly gates,” Sickle-Cordes wrote.
Sickle-Cordes said Cordes loved fast bikes, fast cars, fast boat rides and especially the freedom of skydiving.
“He would always say there’s no other feeling like it,” Sickle-Cordes wrote.
Authorities have not officially released the names of victims. But the names of those identified through tributes by family members, friends and others on social media so far include Jen Sharp, an internationally recognized skydiver and instructor, Marcus Miller, Matthew Cole Swope, Michael Shanahan, Dustin McKinney, Dane Cordes, Nick Nash, William Fischer, Blake Thacker and David Hershberger.
Robert Brock, said he met Cordes several years ago shortly after moving to Richmond, Missouri. Cordes sold Brock a motorcycle, and he used that money to buy his first skydiving rig about two years ago, Brock said.
“Dane was just an amazing man, you know, in every sense of the word man,” Brock said. “Always putting a smile on people’s face, introducing people to things that they may be timid or shy to do at first, really into the adventurous side of life.”
Brock said he is organizing a fundraiser for Cordes’s family on Saturday.
Jacob Hale said on Facebook that Cordes was in high spirits on the morning of the crash.
“I am safe from the skydiving accident but lost some good friends!!,” Hale said. “Lost my best friend in the whole world! My heart can’t hardly take this.”
Hale posted on June 28, that Cordes was about to complete his first jump. A post from a month later shared that Cordes had obtained a skydiving license that allows him to conduct solo jumps.
Elizabeth Cramer, a skydiving instructor who taught Cordes, said she felt pangs of regret when she learned of the accident. The feeling subsided when she remembered her time with Cordes.
“While this is my first reaction to hearing the news of Dane’s passing, I know it’s incorrect,” Cramer said in a Facebook post. “Watching videos of our jumps together, it’s obvious that skydiving brought him such joy and I can’t regret sharing my passion for skydiving with him. He was an amazing skydiver who was a natural talent and an incredible person.”
On Saturday, friends are hosting a memorial ride in honor of Cordes starting at the Love’s Travel Stop at 3201 Ameristar Drive in Kansas City at 10 a.m. They will travel to the Dollar General at 299 Shaw Street in Richmond and are expected to arrive at noon.
A fundraiser on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. is scheduled at the Dollar General in Richmond. A food truck, McPappys, is giving out free hot dogs to anyone that donates at least $5 to the Cordes family.
The Star’s Ilana Arougheti contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 4:35 PM.
