CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. — A father and son went missing while flying in a small plane that presumably crashed in the Mount Hood National Forest early Monday, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
The missing persons were identified as Jared Sabin, 44, and Gavyn Sabin, 19, both of Salem. Authorities are not sure who was flying the plane.
The pair flew out of Salem in a Cessna 150 aircraft with plans to stop in Troutdale before continuing to Idaho and Utah. Around 6 a.m. Monday, air traffic controllers notified the sheriff's office that a plane may have crashed in a remote wilderness area.
The pilot reported having difficulty flying because of poor weather conditions and said ice was beginning to form on the plane. Air traffic control lost contact a few minutes later, authorities said.
The plane is believed to have crashed in the Fish Creek Basin south of Estacada. The presumed crash site is roughly seven miles from the closest access point.
"This is considered one of the more difficult wilderness areas to reach in Clackamas County, and wildfire damage has left the area additionally hazardous and difficult to navigate; challenges include an approximate 7,000-foot elevation gain, land and rock slides, fallen trees, and a lack of a navigable trail system," the sheriff's office said in a release.
The sheriff's office deployed a search-and-rescue team that tried to find the crash site on Tuesday and Wednesday, but their attempts were not successful.
No wreckage has been located despite drone and aircraft surveys of the area.
The sheriff's office has requested the deployment of a U.S. Air Force Reserve pararescue crew to drop them into the wilderness so they can try to find the crash site as well as any casualties or survivors.
