ArnoCorps returned to Europe late in 1996, then rode out the rest of the year at home in Austria, deciding what their next move should be. 1997 brought ArnoCorps a plethora of offers from clubs all over Europe, sharing the bill with such bands as Bus Stop Junkies, Death Alley and even a brief reunion with Dagobah. Then, in a town just outside Oslo, the band got a telegram from promoter Timothy Dalsey offering them a chance to go on a return UK tour with London performer-extremist Wally Bourbon and The Two Quid. "Of course, in hindsight, I wish I'd never sent that damn telegram." said Mr. Dalsey.

At 2:33 AM on March 22, 1998, the four members of ArnoCorps boarded a small charter flight at the airport in Zurich. The weather was anything but ideal for flying, but ArnoCorps insisted that veteran pilot Rolf Siegrist take off. When the plane didn't land at Luton as planned, there was little concern. It was assumed they'd taken off late. But, when hours turned into days and still no word from ArnoCorps or their pilot was received, concern gave way to utter horror. The Swiss airport reported the take off being made smoothly and that radio contact was exchanged periodically every 15 minutes or so and then, after a transmission at 3:42 AM, the plane carrying ArnoCorps was never heard from again.

NOTE: (The events that followed are difficult to piece together and are subject to theories and assumptions. Holzfeuer's refusal in relating the events leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but what is known has been collected from the various official reports made by the collaborating agencies involved. Their cooperation is greatly appreciated)

Searchplanes scoured the Les Hautes Alpes in France for signs of the wreckage. By the second week, the combination of the area's lack of any natural food sources and increasingly colder temperatues had put an end to anyone's hopes of finding survivors. "We felt it was our duty to make an effort to find the wreckage, so that their family members could give them a proper burial." said Captain Matthew Hensley, the man in charge of aerial searches for Lyons. But, weeks of searching with nothing to show for it was becoming too costly and to many seemed to be more and more an exercise in futility.

"It was to be the last day of the search, my pilots were needed elsewhere and funding for the seach had been cut off," explains Captain Hensley. "It was getting dark, so I was calling the pilots to return. Steven Olson had wanted to check out one more thing before returning. He didn't say what it was, but I told him to return as soon as he was done.

Steven was yelling over the radio and, at first, I thought maybe he was having instrument trouble, but then I listened closer. He kept repeating, 'I've found them, I've found them!' I gathered what men I could and we flew off toward Steven's coordinates. The odd thing was that the weather had begun to clear as the forecast was calling for increasing storms. Visibility was near 90%, the wind was more like a soft breeze. I got the feeling Crom was on our side this day.

"When we arrived at the crash site, we noticed Steven was not alone, that indeed there were survivors. It turned out there had been only one survivor, Holzfeuer, but that was one more than we'd ever expected to find. Another thing we hadn't expected to find was the horrific state of the dead. The bodies looked as though they'd been ripped apart, devoured. Holzfeuer talked of wolves that closed in on the wreckage one night and feasted on his dead bandmates and pilot. I had other questions for the surviving Holzfeuer, but kept them to myself until we returned him to safety. As weeks went by, Holzfeuer was forced to explain why he seemed in good health at the time of his rescue, not frail and weak like one would expect from someone who'd been weeks with almost no food and who'd been through such a terrifying ordeal. He told us that he survived by eating the wolves that had eaten the others. He told that he had waited for the wolves to return, '...and while they were resting after feasting on Karl's remains, I dropped down upon them from the fussilage. As I was snapping necks and crushing skulls, I felt as though I was a great knight and I was battling an invading brood in the name of country. That night, I feasted on the wolves whose bellies were full with the blood of my Arno-brethren.'

"But, when I forged on further and asked why no remains of wolves were found at the crash site, the young man said he didn't know and suggested that other wolves dragged off the remains. It is knowing that no species of wolf or any other type of carniverous animal is indigenous to the area makes me shudder."

Since the tragic incident, ArnoCorps has been subject of its own lore. Fans have suggested that by ingesting the wolves, Holzfeuer had inherited the energy and spirit of his men, that he invokes this power for his writing and stage presence, that its as though he becomes several different people when on stage. This is further perpetuated by the physical transformation Holzfeuer seemed to have made after the crash. Not only was he bigger in the muscle sense of the word, but doctors noted that he had actually grown by three full inches, one for each member of the band so the rumor goes. Of course, this is all modern folklore and is to be taken lightly.

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