From: Fremont County Sheriff's Office
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Contact: Sgt. Ryan Lee, 307-332-1028

UPDATE: Search for missing aircraft at 2:00 PM

(Lander, WY) – A United States Air Force Huey helicopter with four crew members on board conducted an extensive air search Wednesday morning for a missing aircraft in the Wind River Range of NW Wyoming.

The missing aircraft filed a flight plan indicating a route from Jackson Hole, WY to Riverton, WY en route to Pierre, SD and ultimately to Minneapolis-St. Paul. The search is underway in an area where radar contact was lost with the aircraft on Monday at 12:37 p.m. The search area is in one of the most remote areas of the lower 48 states, and at least 20 miles from the nearest highway.

The Air Force helicopter returned to Lander, WY at noon to refuel and debrief, and resumed its aerial reconnaissance mission early this afternoon.

The search area is concentrated in a nine square mile area east of Gannet Peak, Wyoming’s highest mountain. The search area is within the Fitzpatrick Wilderness Area of the Shoshone National Forest. A second ground search party of four experienced mountaineers was organized early Wednesday. The second ground searchers join a team of four other mountaineers who were dispatched to the scene late Tuesday and began hiking toward the search area Wednesday morning. The ground searchers are working their way toward the aircraft’s last known position and were hiking in an area between 11,000 and 12,000 feet in elevation. Ground searchers reported fresh and deep snow along their route.

A winter storm moved through the area Tuesday night, depositing between 4 and 15 inches of snow. The weather over the search area has improved and skies are clear, but high winds gusting to 30 mph still persist in the area. Low temperatures plunged below zero in the search area Tuesday night, but are forecast to be in the mid-teens Wednesday night.

The missing aircraft, a 1977 Mooney Model M20J, reportedly carried four residents of the Minneapolis area. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Department policy is not to release identities of the passengers while the rescue mission is underway.

To illustrate the difficult terrain searchers are combing, the Sheriff’s Department released file photos of the general search area. The photos show steep canyons, sharp peaks and rough terrain. The photos were taken during summer months and do not depict current conditions.

Authorities reported that as of 14:00 hrs Wednesday, no emergency locator transmissions have been picked up, either by local search teams or satellite, and there has been no contact with the missing aircraft.

Over two dozen search and rescue, sheriffs department and other federal and state agency personnel are involved in the effort.