Investigators working in plane crash wreckage on a mountainside in southwestern Colorado Monday said they located victim remains and that there were no survivors.
A San Juan County ground crew and confirmed a crash.
The Civil Air Patrol had been searching for a Texas-bound small plane that went missing Sunday afternoon.
San Juan County authorities did not speak directly about the wreckage Monday but posted messages saying remains of four passengers had been located and were extricated.
A Colorado National Guard helicopter ferried investigators including a coroner to the scene. The cause was unclear and no names of victims were released. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Radar and cellphone forensics indicated the plane left California on Sunday morning and lost radio contact near Grizzly Peak, elevation 13,736 feet.
An Air Care helicopter from Dolores County happened to be in the area. The pilot spotted wreckage, then notified authorities in Dolores County. They contacted San Juan County authorities, who dispatched a ground crew.
A CAP search aircraft, taking off from Grand Junction around 3:30 p.m. did not find wreckage and returned to Grand Junction as the sun went down.
The missing plane, a Cessna 310-H, departed Barstow, Calif., and was headed to Amarillo, Texas. Federal Aviation Administration officials said a Cessna bound for Amarillo had been in Flagstaff, Ariz., and planned a stop in Tucumcari, N.M.
Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, bfinley@denverpost.com or twitter.com/finleybruce
