Wreckage of missing plane found

Friday, Feb. 27, 2004 | 9:51 a.m.

The wreckage of a small plane missing for more than a week was found near Jean on Thursday.

Civil Air Patrol teams located the crash site about 12:20 p.m. Thursday.

The site, which has been secured, is against a hillside about nine miles south of Jean.

Lt. Russell Bates, the pilot, and his passenger, Casey Ferrone, a 25-year-old teacher from San Diego, left North Las Vegas Airport on Feb. 15 and had not been seen since.

The two men were reported missing after Bates failed to report for duty on Feb. 17 for his temporary assignment at Camp Pendleton, Calif., according to the Civil Air Patrol.

Two bodies were pulled from the wreckage of the plane.

Rainy weather forced airborne search and rescue teams to postpone their search several times.

archive