UPDATE: Sweetwater County authorities say the body of a missing pilot as well as his plane has been found in a remote area southwest of Rock Springs following an extensive search.

The pilot has been identified as 50-year-old Kelly Melvin of Green River. The crash site was near Little Mountain.

The search started on Tuesday afternoon when deputies received a report that Melvin and his plan had failed to arrive as planned in California.

UPDATE: A Utah Air National Guard Apache Helicopter on Tuesday night spotted a "ground disturbance" in the area of Little Mountain southwest of Rock Springs.

The Utah Air Guard had joined the search at the request of the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office..

At 8 a.m. on Wednesday a Wyoming Civil Air Patrol plan confirmed the disturbance. The Wyoming Army National Guard deployed a Huey helicopter with emergency medical and hoise capabilities to support the search and rescue efforts.

Original Post:Sweetwater County Sheriff's Deputies were called out on Tuesday afternoon to look for a missing pilot and plane.

That's according to a release from the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office.

According to the release, a the agency got the report at 1:22 p.m. about a plane that had left Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport near Rock Springs, but had failed to reach it's destination in California.

The reported prompted an immediate search and rescue effort.

According to the release ''Upon investigation and based on automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data, authorities have focused their search and rescue efforts on an area near Pine and Little Mountain, southwest of Rock Springs.''

The Missing Pilot Is A Wyoming Man

The release says the pilot is a Green River man in his 50s. The plane is a Piper Commanche. The search continued through the afternoon and into the evening. The search was slated to resume at daybreak today [Jan.15].

We will report further details as they become available.

Meet the Four-Legged Heroes of the Cheyenne Police Department

They may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but make no bones about it, police dogs play a vital role in the fight against crime.

In many situations, they're the first ones to put their lives on the line to protect their human partners, proving that not all heroes wear capes, some wear fur coats.

Gallery Credit: Joy Greenwald

 

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