Two people died this weekend in a plane crash in a remote area north of Dolores that contains private and San Juan National Forest land, according to Montezuma County Sheriff Steven Nowlin.
The Montezuma County Search and Rescue and Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office located the single-engine plane about 2 p.m. Sunday and confirmed that two people, reported missing Saturday, had died in the crash.
Nowlin told The Journal on Tuesday that the Sheriff’s Office received a call late Saturday night from a family member who said their family members, who were flying in the plane, were overdue.
The names of the deceased have not been released, and Nowlin said the bodies have not been positively identified.
Because of a federal investigation, Nowlin said he could not release details including the pair’s flight plan.
The bodies have been taken to the Montezuma County Coroner’s Office. The cause of death is expected Wednesday.
Investigators from the National Traffic Safety Board in Denver and Federal Aviation Administration in Salt Lake City arrived Monday to investigate the crash.
“The NTSB and FAA will determine that through their investigation, which will take a lot longer with the examination of everything with the aircraft as to the cause of the crash, whether it is mechanical or pilot error … who knows,” Nowlin said.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
