Cooler but still well above normal this week

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      CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Searchers resumed looking on Wednesday for
a small plane carrying a Minneapolis business executive and his
three children missing a remote area of western Wyoming.


      After two days of snow, the weather was calm and clear in the
Wind River Range near Lander, where the plane carrying Luke
Bucklin, 41, and three of his sons disappeared from radar Monday
after taking off from the Jackson airport in a snowstorm.


      The Fremont County sheriff's office said no emergency signal has
been detected from the single-engine, 1977 Mooney propeller plane.


      An Air Force helicopter searched from the air Wednesday and four
mountaineers hiked into the search area, centered near Gannett Peak
- Wyoming's tallest peak at 13,802 feet. The search area is within
the Fitzpatrick Wilderness Area, about 20 miles from the nearest
highway. The sheriff's office said it's among the most remote
wilderness areas in the continental United States.


"Very mountainous area, heavy timbers, steep cliffs, the area itself is approximately 12,000 to 13,000 feet in altitude, so it's very challenging," Freemont County Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Ryan Lee  said. 


Lee said the weather Tuesday night was 10 below zero.

"However, the weather is starting to cooperate with us at this point," he said. "Probably one of the big issues we're dealing with is the windchill."

      Bucklin and his sons were returning to Minneapolis after a visit
to Jackson when the plane disappeared. Bucklin's family website
identifies the boys as 14-year-old twins Nate and Nick and
12-year-old Noah.

      Bonnie Harris, a family friend of Luke Bucklin and his wife,
Ginger Bucklin, said the family had been in Wyoming for a wedding
and family vacation. Ginger Bucklin and the couple's youngest son
flew home separately on a commercial flight, Harris said.


      Ginger Bucklin is stepmother to Nate, Nick and Noah, Harris
said. The boys' biological mother has joined Ginger Bucklin at the
family's home in Minneapolis as they await word. The leader of the
search team has been calling Ginger Bucklin directly from his
satellite radio with regular updates, Harris said.


      "They have been a blended family for a very long time and in
this, they are one big family," Harris said.


      Also spending time at the Bucklins' home since word of the
plane's disappearance Monday night have been other family members,
friends and colleagues from Luke Bucklin's Bloomington, Minn.-based
web development company, Sierra Bravo Corp.


      The Bucklins are active members of a small Edina congregation,
City Church. About 80 people attended a prayer vigil Tuesday night,
Pastor John Somerville said.

      Sommerville said the three boys are popular members of the
church's youth group. Church employees individually called parents
with children in the group to tell them about the situation and
encourage them to attend the prayer service, he said.


      "We're just continuing to covet peoples' prayers," Sommerville
said. "We're hoping for the best but we're realistic at the same
time. Our trust and hope is in God."


      Associated Press writer Patrick Condon contributed to this
report from Minneapolis. MPR's Dan Olson contributed from St. Paul.
      

Gallery

Plane with Minn. exec, 3 kids aboard missing in Wyo.

Disasters

Searchers resumed looking on Wednesday for
a small plane carrying a Minneapolis business executive and his
three children missing a remote area of western Wyoming.

Search continues for missing plane with Minn. man, kids

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