The family of renowned wolf biologist Gordon Haber, who was killed in a plane crash this week, says they were not notified of his death and found out via news reports.

Haber's niece, Cheryl Richardson, who lives in Florida, said as far as she knew he was still missing.

"I just can't believe he's gone," Richardson said on the phone.

Richardson says the National Park Service told her they couldn't locate any next of kin to contact her.

Haber was well known in Alaska for his love of wolves and his sometimes abrasive persona, but to a select few Haber was known as a caring family man.

"He was my everything," Richardson said. "He was everything to me."

Haber's plane went down as he was tracking a wolf with a collar on.

"They picked up a signal from a collared wolf using the radio system that's on the airplane," said Clint Johnson with the National Transportation Safety Board who is investigating the crash.

Pilot Dan McGregor somehow lost control of the plane and it crashed near the East Fork of the Tolkat River.

"He was like a kid," Richardson said. "When he saw [those wolves] and he died doing what he loved most."

Preparations are underway for Haber's funeral, one where Richardson will remember the good times with her favorite uncle.

"When we were little he never let anyone read us 'Little Red Riding Hood' because he said 'That's not how wolves are. They're very sweet animals.' He was just very kind, very loving, always there," she

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said.

McGregor survived the plane crash and hiked 20 miles to safety. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for serious burns on his body.

Richardson said the group Friends of Animals is planning a memorial for Haber on Nov. 6.

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