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Search underway for missing plane en route to Pagosa

Colorado and New Mexico authorities are searching for a private, single-engine plane missing since Friday when it departed Moriarty, New Mexico, en route to Pagosa Springs.

Kate Alfred, manager of the Archuleta County Airport at Stevens Field in Pagosa Springs, said Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office is leading the search north of the border.

Archuleta County Undersheriff Tonya Hamilton said extensive efforts have been conducted to find the missing plane. The county is using a number of resources such as ground search teams, airplanes and helicopters.

The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office has been periodically updating social media with updates, Hamilton said.

About 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, Archuleta County Search and Rescue assembled three ground teams to begin a search in which the last GPS reading was obtained from the airplane, according to the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Three different aircraft flew over the region, rotating every hour. An additional helicopter arrived at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“I know they’re getting ready to wrap things up for the day because they can’t work in the dark,” she said.

The search will reconvene this morning.

Archuleta County Search and Rescue was contacted by the U.S. Air Force at 7:23 p.m. Monday in reference to an overdue airplane, according to the department Facebook page. The official search began Tuesday morning.

Bob Hudson, Moriarty Municipal Airport manager, was unable to speak about the missing aircraft and was advised to direct all inquiries to the New Mexico State Police.

Attempts to reach Lt. Emmanuel Gutierrez, spokesman for New Mexico State Police, were unsuccessful on Tuesday.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, an aircraft is considered overdue when it fails to arrive 30 minutes after its estimated time of arrival and communications or location cannot be established. The whereabouts of the aircraft have been unknown for four days.

FAA records also indicate the plane is registered to an Albuquerque resident, but it is not known if anybody other than the pilot was onboard.

vguthrie@durangoherald.com The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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