UPDATE: Two Pueblo County lawmen have been killed in plane crash
PUEBLO COUNTY, COLO. -- Update: Two Pueblo County lawmen have been killed in a plane crash while searching the southern Colorado mountains for an illegal marijuana grow.
Pueblo County sheriff's office spokeswoman Lisa Shorter says an employee of the sheriff's office and a retired Pueblo city policeman were on board. The plane wreckage was found on Greenhorn Mountain at about 10,000 feet in the San Isabel National Forest in Custer County.
The single-engine Piper Super Cruiser left Pueblo Memorial Airport Friday morning and was due back around 10 a.m. but did not return.
Shorter said the victims were both men but gave no more identifying information. She said the retired policeman was the pilot, but Shorter was not immediately sure whether he was volunteering his time or working for the department.
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Original story:
A plane with two people aboard is missing in the San Isabel National Forest.
Pueblo County Sheriff's deputies said crews are looking for the plane, which was carrying two people. They did not say whether or not the plane crashed.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration confirms that the single-engine Piper Super Cruiser was hired by the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department and departed from Pueblo Memorial Airport Friday morning. The pilot was due back at the Pueblo airport around 10 a.m. but did not return.
The spokesman said the plane was hired "for law enforcement purposes" but did not elaborate.
Fremont and Custer County search and rescue teams are assisting with the search.
Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor tells The Pueblo Chieftain "we're pulling all resources we can find" to search for the plane.
Deputies did not release any other information.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
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