Search For Missing Airplane Near Saratoga (UPDATED)

An air and ground search is underway for a missing plane bound for Laramie. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna 172 was enroute from Meeker, Colorado, to Laramie, but the aircraft never arrived.

A search was initiated northeast of Saratoga in Carbon County, and included local authorities, as well as aircraft and ground teams from the Wyoming Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. It’s not known how many were aboard the single-engine aircraft.

Carbon County Sheriff Jerry Colson says the Cessna 172 was bound for Laramie. The plane is registered to Mountain Hawk Aviation in California. Its last stop was an airport in Bryce Canyon, Utah.

Colson tells the Associated Press that his office was notified Sunday afternoon by the U.S. Air Force that an emergency locating transmitted from the plane had been activated in the area of Saratoga.

Colson says there were no reports of a distress signal being transmitted.

He says search and rescue teams have been scouring an mountainous area about five miles east of Saratoga, but so far have found nothing.

According to officials deep snow, rugged terrain and thick timber are hampering the search.