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PROMONTORY, Box Elder County — Air, ground and water crews continued searching Sunday for a small plane that didn’t arrive at Ogden-Hinckley Airport by its scheduled time Friday afternoon.
However, authorities said they plan to scale back the search after failing to find the plane after two full days of searching.
"A joint meeting was held with ground and air search units and search track records were compared. It was determined from this meeting that the search area has been covered from the air at least once and some areas multiple times," Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Dale Ward wrote in a statement Friday afternoon.
A Department of Public Safety helicopter, as well as the Civil Air Patrol, were dismissed from the search after Sunday's efforts as a part of the scaling back, Ward said. He added ground efforts on land and water will continue but will also be scaled back.
The plane, a red and white Cessna 172 with license number N4395R, left the airport at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. Inside the plane were pilot Denny Mansell, 71, and passenger Peter Ellis, 74. Family members told police the two planned to leave the airport and fly to the Promontory area to view trains at the Golden Spike Historic Site from the air.
Family members said the pair planned to return to the airport at about 4:30 p.m., but they did not return, according to Ward.
Police have received and investigated several tips, but as of Sunday afternoon had not yet found any definitive leads, Ward said.
Ward added the family of the missing men want anyone who attended the Steam Festival at the Golden Spike Historical Site Friday for any evidence, such as photos, of the plane to establish if the plane actually made it to the area the men were flying to. He said that would allow investigators to narrow the search area of the plane.
Anyone with photos or information is encouraged to email missingplane4395@gmail.com.
Contributing: Carter Williams
