Date:
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Contact:
OFFICE OF THE SKAMANIA COUNTY SHERIFF
PO Box 790
200 Vancouver Ave.
Stevenson WA 98648
Phone (509)427-9490
Fax (509)427-4369
www.skamaniasheriff.com
scso@co.skamania.wa.us
Press Release Update
Missing Aircraft
January 27, 2006 6:30 pm
Ground and air search efforts have been suspended indefinitely for a Cessna twin engine aircraft originally reported missing at approximately 2:45 Wednesday afternoon. The Skamania County Sheriff will not send searchers back into the search area on Saturday. Ground search efforts will not be initiated until weather conditions and accessibility to the search area improves.
The Washington State Department of Transportation, Aviation Division, remains ready to launch aircraft in the event weather conditions improve over the next few days.
Search conditions deteriorated throughout the day today, with additional accumulations of snow. Visibility was poor and prohibited any over flights of the area.
“The safety of the searchers remained our highest priority throughout the last 3 days. The weekend forecast combined with the amount of snow and rugged terrain all led to the decision to suspend efforts,” said Sheriff Dave Brown. “We are appreciative of the efforts of all the agencies and volunteer searchers who assisted in this effort.”
No additional press releases will be submitted until there is a change in the status of this incident.
Dave Brown
Sheriff
Tom Peterson
WSDOT, Aviation
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