Megan Hilty has praised fans for the "overwhelming support' she has received after the death of her sister, brother-in-law, and nephew.
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Lauren Hilty, brother-in-law Ross Mickel, and their son Remy were among those whose remains were discovered after a plane crash over Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington; Lauren was eight months pregnant at the time of the crash.
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Smash star Megan and her sister Kristen set up for a fundraising page that would help to recover the bodies and on Friday she took to social media to admit it was "difficult to describe the depth of our gratitude for the overwhelming support we have received in such a short time".
"Because of the generous support we've received, we will be able to cover the search and rescue team's costs and make a donation to their foundation to help other families look for their loved ones," shared Megan.
"Whether you have contributed financially, brought us meals, sent flowers or cards or healing thoughts and prayers, we will never truly be able to thank you enough for supporting our family when we needed you the most. But we will keep trying and we will be paying these acts of kindness forward for the rest of our lives."
In September the wreckage of the float plane that was carrying 10 people aboard was located. The plane wreckage was located approximately 190 feet down on the Puget Sound sea floor, according to the National Transportation Safe Board.
Megan shared a picture of her sister and nephew
Megan went on to share that "this tragic loss put us in an impossible situation and, to be very honest, it was incredibly difficult to ask for help".
"But the immediate outpouring of support has shown us we are not alone in wanting to recover our beloved family members, and that has brought us an immense amount of comfort," she continued.
Pilot Jason Winters, passenger Joanne Mera, civil rights activist Sandra Williams and her partner retired teacher Patt Hicks, and married couple Luke and Rebecca Ludwig were also on the plane when it crashed.
Lauren, Rick and Remy were among the 10 who died
Megan set up the GoFundMe after it was confirmed that when the NTSB "brought up the plane, several victims were recovered, and thankfully Ross was one of them - but our beloved sister and nephews were not".
"Now that the NTSB has concluded its work, it is up to us to hire a private company to go look for them," they continued. "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."
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