Shell, Wyo. – Three members of Wyoming’s Civil Air Patrol, out searching for a missing teen, were killed when their plane crashed in the Bighorn National Forest, authorities said Tuesday.
The plane went down Monday evening as the crew searched for a teen who disappeared the day before while fishing. On Tuesday, rescuers reached the remote crash site and recovered the bodies of the crew members, said Jeanne Stone-Hunter, spokeswoman for the Civil Air Patrol’s Wyoming Wing.
The pilot of the Cessna 182R was identified Tuesday night as Lt. Col. James Henderson, 59, of Cowley. The two passengers were Senior Member James Meyer, 53, of Sheridan; and Capt. Patricia Larson, 52, of Sheridan.
Henderson last made radio contact with another pilot in the area about 4 p.m. Monday, Stone- Hunter said. The missing teen, Keith Bellack, 16, of Gillette, was found alive about an hour later, although his condition was not immediately known.
The Civil Air Patrol plane left the Sheridan airport about 1:30 p.m. Monday for a two-hour search mission. When it failed to return, the patrol alerted the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and a search for the plane began, Stone-Hunter said.
About 7:30 p.m. Monday, a U.S. Forest Service helicopter spotted the wreckage.
