Crews search for plane that went missing after Monday takeoff from Colville airport

The search continued Tuesday evening for a plane that went missing Monday afternoon near Colville.

The pilot, a 67-year-old Colville man, left Colville Municipal Airport around noon Monday in his Cessna 182 Skylane. When the man did not return on time, his family alerted authorities, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

WSDOT Aviation Search and Rescue led the search effort and worked with search and rescue teams from Stevens and Spokane counties.

No emergency beacon signals or other distress signals had been recorded in the area as of Tuesday morning. Two search flights, including the Spokane County Sheriff’s Air 1 helicopter, searched the area late Monday night and did not find any signs of the plane, according to the department of transportation.

The search shifted to a ground mission Tuesday afternoon due to weather and visibility, WSDOT said.

With fog and low clouds forecast for Wednesday, WSDOT will wait to decided whether to fly search planes until the morning.

Anyone with information about the plane can call the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office at (509) 684-2555.