Megan Hilty is asking for assistance amid a family tragedy.
Last month, the Smash alum's sister Lauren Hilty—who was 8 months pregnant with son Luca—as well as Megan's brother-in-law Ross Mickel and nephew Remy Mickel died in a plane crash. However, not all of her family members' bodies have been recovered.
"Hey everyone," Megan, 41, wrote on Instagram Oct. 19. "By now many of you have heard about my family's tragic loss. I'm reaching out now because we need your help."
According to the United States Coast Guard, nine passengers and one pilot crashed into the waters of Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island in Washington on Sept. 4. The Coast Guard recovered the body of one deceased individual and called off its search for the remaining nine individuals on Sept. 5, with the rest being presumed dead.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Sept. 12 that it located the wreckage of the plane and began its recovery operations on Sept. 27. CNN, citing Island County Emergency Management, reported on Oct. 1 that six more bodies have been recovered.
"When the NTSB brought up the plane, several victims were recovered, and thankfully Ross was one of them - but my beloved sister and nephews were not," Megan wrote in her post. "Now that the NTSB has concluded its work, it is up to us to hire a private company to go look for them. 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. But we can't do this alone."
The NTSB said in a statement to People that their "investigators continue to examine the wreckage to determine the probable cause of the crash in our safety investigation."
The organization added, "Aircraft recovery operations concluded on September 30. More than 26 personnel from five federal and local agencies participated in the recovery operations. The ROV conducted 17 dive missions. More than 184 acres of seafloor area was searched (approximately 3,500 feet by 2,300 feet). The majority of the aircraft was recovered with parts sent to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C."
Megan noted that "a search and recovery mission of this magnitude comes at a tremendous cost" and shared that she and her sister Kristen Eaton launched a GoFundMe page "to help raise the money to cover these costs." According to the account, the GoFundMe page is seeking to raise $50,000 and had already raised more than $45,000 at the time of this writing. Megan wrote that if they surpass the fundraising goal, they "will donate those funds 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," the actress added. "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."