DEER LODGE, Mont. — A Huntsville man and his two daughters were killed Friday night in a single-plane crash in Montana, multiple sources confirmed.
The bodies of Mark Anderson and his daughters Lainey and Ellie were found Saturday afternoon at the crash site after an aerial search over a wilderness area.
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According to reports, Anderson, his wife Misty, their daughters and relatives were in Polson Mont. He, their daughters and pet dog Stella were the only ones aboard the small plane piloted by Anderson.
“Members of the Powell County Coroners Office, Missoula County Search and Rescue with assistance from the Montana DNRC arrived on scene,” the Powell County sheriff’s office posted. “The pilot and two other occupants were pronounced dead at the scene.”
The sheriff’s office said in a news release that at about 4:30 p.m. Friday, it received a report of a possible downed aircraft.
The last known location was in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in northern Powell County.
The sheriff’s office said air resources were deployed Friday evening from Malstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls and continued to search until around midnight.
The plane was located Saturday morning.
“Around 9:00 a.m., a volunteer aircraft operating under the command of the Montana Department of Transportation Aeronautics division, working off a weak ELT signal, located the aircraft,” the sheriff’s office posted. “The scene was turned over to the Air Force who also had helicopters operating in the area. The downed aircraft was located in a remote, wooded area in Youngs Creek in the Bob Marshall Wilderness- North East of Seeley Lake. Members of the Powell County Coroners Office, Missoula County Search and Rescue, the Seeley Lake Rural Fire Department with assistance from the Montana DNRC, arrived on scene around 1600 hours.”
The sheriff’s office has turned the investigation over to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, which will lead efforts to determine the cause of the crash.
