Two people were found dead at a crash site south of Boulder Monday morning following an extensive search and rescue operation involving dozens of crews after a plane was last spotted by radar in the Eldorado Springs area Sunday evening.
During a news conference Monday morning, county sheriff officials said they received a report of the possible downed aircraft at 9:42 p.m. on Sunday from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.
"At that point in time, rescuers were sent out to try to locate the possible crash site. They've been doing that overnight, and again, they just restarted that effort again just a little while ago," said Boulder County Sheriff's Office spokesman Vinnie Montez earlier in the day.
Boulder County officials will hold a news conference where they'll provide an update at 4 p.m. Watch it in the video below:
The missing plane a private, single-engine fixed-wing aircraft flew out of Longmont Airport, Montez said, though information about where the plane was headed or details about its tail number were not immediately available.
"The area that we're searching right now is everything south of the city of Boulder, west of Highway 93, and all the way west to the Continental Divide," he said, as he urged the public not to fly drones in nearby trailheads.
Montez said a temporary flight restriction would also go into effect for the area as about 30 crews continue their search and rescue operation.
"If anybody does happen to be hiking today, hiking in the back country, the southern part of Boulder County, and the mountain areas, and do come across what looks like the remnants of a flight crash, please let us know by dialing 911 or getting on your satellite phone," Montez said.
At around 10:15 a.m., a MedEvac helicopter and the Civil Air Patrol found the crash site of the missing aircraft north of Eldorado Canyon State Park and south of the Flatirons, deputies said in a news release later Monday. Rescuers reached the crash site at around noon, a spokesperson with the sheriff's office said.
"Two individuals were located deceased, and no survivors were found," deputies said.
Watch Monday's earlier news conference from the Boulder County Sheriff's Office in the video below:
News conference: Boulder County officials searching for possible downed aircraft
The Boulder County Sheriffs Office, in coordination with the National Transportation Safety Board, will be conducting the investigation which will be led by the NTSB, deputies said.
The Boulder County Coroners Office is also conducting an independent investigation to determine the cause and manner of death of the two individuals. Their names will be released following positive identification and notification to family members, deputies said.
Besides the sheriffs office, Boulder County Emergency Services, Rocky Mountain rescue, Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks Rangers, Colorado Search and Rescue association, medevac, and civil air patrol are all included in the search and rescue operation, Montez said.