Weather conditions continue to hamper search efforts to find a missing single-engine airplane that disappeared Saturday afternoon en route from Penticton to Edmonton.
Kathleen Moores, spokesperson for the Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, said snow flurries coupled with a low cloud ceiling are making efforts to find the plane, believed to have gone down in heavily forested, mountainous terrain about 18 kilometres north of Revelstoke.
On board the Mooney aircraft were the pilot Dominic Neron, 28, from Spruce Grove, and his girlfriend Ashley Bourgeault, of Edmonton.
Related: Search for missing plane in Revelstoke area
Moore said search efforts today involved the use of a Parks Canada helicopter, along with Canadian military Buffalo aircraft and Cormorant helicopter.
She said Parks Canada staff were involved in a ground search effort as well on Tuesday, but weather didn’t permit the ground search to carry on today.
“Each morning we access the best way to use the resources we have. The weather was a bit of a challenge this morning but the afternoon has been better,” Moores said.
“Our search effort remains focused on the same area we have been looking at the last few days.”
Neron’s sister, Victoria resident Tammy Neron, has been trying to update friends and family on the search via Facebook, encouraging positive hope that her brother and his girlfriend, a single mom with three kids, will be found safe.
“These seconds feel like hours but your prayers will get our families through this hard time and we appreciate all the love,” Tammy posted.
“We need your strength and prayers. They will find him, this is day four and they need to be found today.”
The original search area was downsized with data provided by radar along with Neron’s cell phone signal beep.
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