Search and rescue crews continue to look for a small piper aircraft with two people on board that went missing in the area of Cranbrook, B.C. Thursday afternoon.
Lt.-Col. Bryn Elliott said 13 military planes and two Cormorant helicopters were in the air Sunday, conducting sweeps of a vast area between Cranbrook and Kamloops.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Victoria said they received a call on Thursday at 5 p.m. that an aircraft was missing.
WATCH: Search crews look for missing plane
Transportation Safety Board officials say the plane left a Lethbridge, Alta. training facility at 9:35 a.m. and stopped at the Cranbrook airport at 3 p.m. to refuel on June 8. The plane then took off, headed for Kamloops but has not been seen since.
According to RCMP, the aircraft was piloted by Alex Simons, a 21-year-old and was accompanied by his girlfriend Sidney Robillard.
Crews have been searching since Thursday night but JRCC Cpt. Gregory Clarke said Saturday they have found no signs of the plane.
“We are investigating multiple leads, sightings and tips and a few little beacon blips,” he said.” However at this time nothing yet has been located.”
Elliott said a thunderstorm rolled through the area shortly after the plane departed and weather may have been a factor in the disappearance.
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“The pilot could have chosen to do any number of things,” Elliott said, adding that Simons may have flown into some valleys to try to find clearer weather.
“We try to put ourselves in the minds of the pilot with the information that we have.”
The Piper aircraft call letters are CGDTK. Transport Canada’s airplane registry shows the plane is owned by Excel Flight Training in Lethbridge.
The pilot’s brother, Jonathan Simons, told Global News the pair live in Lethbridge and were flying to Kamloops to visit. The 19-year-old lives there with their mother.
Jonathan said their father, Matthew Simons, was very involved with Alex becoming a pilot in the last year.
Search efforts are concentrated in a heavily treed, mountainous area between Cranbrook and Kamloops.
Searchers are also looking into potential sightings reported by members of the public, which Elliott said have been “very, very helpful.”
The hunt will continue indefinitely, he added.
“We’re going to keep searching until we’ve covered (the area) to our satisfaction,” Elliott said.
But low clouds and heavily wooded terrain are making the task difficult, and Elliott said the search could last weeks, depending on the weather.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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