Search for missing plane with two aboard in southeastern B.C. paused overnight

VICTORIA – A search has been scaled back overnight in southeastern British Columbia for a small plane that disappeared Saturday on a flight from Penticton to Edmonton with two people aboard.

Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokeswoman Lt. Melissa Kia says the search was paused as darkness fell on Monday but it will resume at first light.

She says three helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are focusing the search in an area about 45 kilometres northeast of Revelstoke.

Kia says that is where a radar satellite signal was picked up Saturday, along with a cellphone signal recorded by a cellular tower in the same area.

Kia says Monday’s search will extend into the Rogers Pass region.

She says low cloud and rain are hampering efforts to spot the downed plane in the mountainous terrain and the lack of specific detail about a possible location means a ground search is not being considered.

No information has been released about the pilot or passenger aboard the plane.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled the last name of Melissa Kia