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Two bodies found in wreckage of small plane in Arizona

The Civil Air Patrol says a pilot believed to have crashed 35 miles east of Page, Ariz., was flying low to see the sights.

By Frances Burns
Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Ariz. (UPI Photo/Tami Heilemann/Department of the Interior)
Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Ariz. (UPI Photo/Tami Heilemann/Department of the Interior) | License Photo

PAGE, Ariz., June 23 (UPI) -- Two bodies were found in the wreckage of a small plane that crashed on the Navajo Nation in Arizona, authorities said Monday.

The wreck was discovered by searchers for a missing plane, which was flying from Southern California to South Carolina. The 1961 Mooney M20B took off from Page, Ariz., on Friday afternoon, about 35 miles west of where it was found. A search began Saturday when relatives of the man and teenager on board told the Federal Aviation Administration they were overdue and had not been heard from.

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Pilots from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah joined the search.

Sources close to the family identified the teen as Dakota Jacks, WYFF-TV in Greenville, S.C., reported. The pilot, who was not identified, was described as a family friend.

The Civil Air Patrol said the pilot was deliberately flying low to get a good look at the scenery. Page, a small city founded in 1957 to house workers on the nearby Glen Canyon Dam, is surrounded by natural wonders like the Vermilion Cliffs and manmade ones like the dam and Lake Powell.

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Coconino County Sheriff's Sgt. Aaron Dick said the wreckage is in Peach Canyon, in an area not accessible from the ground. He said that after a report that something had been spotted Sunday afternoon a sheriff's deputy was flown the site and discovered the bodies.

Dick said that the plane had not been positively identified because of the heavy damage.

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