No sign of Minn. family or plane in Wyo. mountains
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Searchers have found no sign of a single-engine plane missing in the northwest Wyoming mountains with a Minneapolis man and three of his sons aboard, officials said Sunday.
The Mooney 20J took off from the Jackson airport in a snowstorm on Oct. 25 and disappeared from radar about an hour later. The plane was bound for Riverton, Wyo., and then Minneapolis.
The pilot was Luke Bucklin, 40. His 14-year-old twins Nate and Nick and 12-year-old Noah were also aboard.
The search has centered on rugged terrain east of Gannett Peak, the highest in Wyoming at just over 13,800 feet. Crews have been searching in an area of steep canyons.
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Two ground teams spent Saturday night in the search area because weather conditions kept helicopters from retrieving them.
A helicopter did get a third crew out of the area. Members of that team reported blizzard-like conditions.
The weather improved Sunday and sheriff's officials planned to ferry the two crews out and bring a fresh crew in.
Bonnie Harris, a friend of the Bucklin family, said they had been in Wyoming for a wedding and family vacation. Luke Bucklin's wife, Ginger Bucklin, and the couple's youngest son flew home separately on a commercial flight, Harris said.
Luke Bucklin is president and co-founder of the Bloomington, Minn.-based Web development company Sierra Bravo Corp.
Harris said Bucklin received his pilot's license in 2002.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
