This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A debris field found in Sevier County is likely the remains of a small airplane that went missing on a flight from California to Colorado.
Two people were aboard, the Sevier County Sheriff's Office said in a press release. The Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., identified the deceased as wife and husband Mona and Peter Branagh. The newspaper cited Lafayette, Calif., City Manager Steven Falk.
The sheriff's office declined Monday to confirm the names of the victims.
The crash is believed to have happened Saturday night, but personnel from Sevier County Search and Rescue located it Sunday north of Interstate 70 about 27 miles southeast of Salina. A press release from the office said debris had been spotted, but made no mention of whether bodies were with it.
The sheriff's office said the plane, a Cirrus SR22 single-engine aircraft registered to Springhill Aviation LLC in Danville, Calif., was traveling from northern California to Aspen, Colo. When the plane became overdue, family members started calling for assistance. Radar tracking last placed the plane in Sevier County.
The search began Sunday morning. The sheriff's office says Civil Air Patrol, as well as a plane from the Emery County Sheriff's Office and private helicopters contracted by the family, all searched.
The sheriff's office said a private helicopter spotted the debris field. Investigators are trying to confirm through the tail number whether it is the missing plane.
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