Maj. Al Pabon
Director of Public Affairs
North Central Region
MINNESOTA – The Minnesota Wing continues to search for an aircraft and pilot that went missing Friday.
The aircraft -– a white PA-28 Piper Cherokee with yellow stripes and black highlights -- left Air Lake Airport in Lakeville bound for Hallock. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., alerted CAP the following morning that the aircraft was missing.
Air and ground search teams searched Monday between Wadena and Hallock, deploying nearly 70 members and 10 aircraft from Minnesota and surrounding states.
The air and ground search continued today at first light, with all operations based at Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport.
The search is slowly growing and now encompasses several central Minnesota counties, including Becker, Mahnomen, Red Lake, Marshall, Hubbard, Polk, Pennington, Todd and Wadena.
Eighteen aircraft, some from the North and South Dakota wing, are searching for the missing plane and pilot, Andrew Lindberg. More than 50 CAP ground personnel are also involved.
CAP is asking that pilots stay out of the airspace between St. Cloud and Foston to avoid interfering with search operations.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact the local county sheriff's office, which is in contact with CAP and the search effort.
