Searchers Find Two Alive From Plane Wreck in Central Oregon

CRESCENT, Ore. -- Rescuers on snowmobiles and snowshoes reached two people whose plane went down near Willamette Pass, authorities said Tuesday. One of the two was injured, and required transportation on a backboard for medical treatment, Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger said in a statement.

The plane went down Monday evening, and the Oregon Army National Guard sent up an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter with infrared sensors to look for it.

Evinger said the pair on the ground signaled the aircraft with flashlights, and supplies were dropped for them.

Tuesday morning, search and rescue teams from three counties used snowmobiles and snowshoes to get to the site.

The plane's occupants were listed in stable condition, and a helicopter was expected to lift them from the site, said Capt. Chris Montenaro of the Klamath County sheriff's department. They were to be taken to a hospital in Bend.

"There's no indication yet as to what happened" to cause the crash, Montenaro said. He said no description of the plane was immediately available.

Montenaro described the area as heavily timbered. It is near Willamette Pass, a Cascade Range passage that connects Central Oregon and the Willamette Valley. Evinger said authorities determined that the crash site was west of Odell Lake and in Lane County.

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