Search News Saturday Oct. 30

press release from the search team - 10/30 10am CDT
By ginger - Posted on October 30th, 2010
Tagged: SAR Press Releases
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Contact: Det. Sgt. Ryan Lee, 307-332-1021 or 332-1028

UPDATE: Search for missing aircraft at 9:00 A.M. M.T.

(Lander, WY) – With favorable weather early today, the fifth full day of searching for a missing single-engine plane with four members of a Minnesota family on board began at daylight in northwest Wyoming. In the four previous full days of searching, no physical evidence of the craft has been found, although teams are still attempting to track an emergency locator signal, which has been heard in the area.

A group of mountaineers from the Sublette County Search and Rescue Team from Pinedale, WY, joined the search this morning and is one of three ground search teams, joining two existing teams from Lander. The ground searchers are being airlifted into the search area by a U.S. Air Force Huey helicopter from Cheyenne, WY.

In addition to the three helicopters, one fixed wing craft from the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol is expected to join the search and overfly the area at mid-morning in another attempt to pinpoint the location of an elusive emergency transponder signal that was detected several days ago.

“We are searching some areas today that were previously searched because strong winds have rearranged some surface features in the past two days,” said Chip Williams, Incident Commander. “We are also sending up digital video equipment in one of the helicopters so we can analyze the video for clues to the plane’s disappearance.”

The search area is at an elevation of between 11,000 and 12,000 feet and east of Wyoming’s highest mountain, which is at an elevation of 13,802 feet. The landscape in the search area includes deep drainages, heavy timber and boulder fields, steep and crevassed canyon walls with numerous rock outcroppings and rock towers. Much of the search area is still covered in snow. c

Weather conditions today are forecast to be favorable through late afternoon when isolated snow showers and thunderstorms are forecast. Temperatures in the search area today are forecast to reach a high of between 32 an 35°F.