GUTHRIE CENTER — Emergency responders from four counties mobilized about 9 p.m. Friday to search for a private plane that was reported missing just before sundown.
Unconfirmed reports indicate the plane was traveling from LeMars to Des Moines when the pilot suffered a heart attack.
A student pilot reportedly took the controls of the aircraft and was first directed toward an emergency landing at the Perry airport and then at the Guthrie Center airport.
Public safety authorities from Guthrie, Dallas, Audubon and Carroll counties, along with the Iowa State Patrol, numerous volunteer fire department personnel and the Civil Air Patrol are searching for the lost plane. Darkness is hampering their efforts, which will continue until the aircraft is located.
The initial search area was south of Iowa Highway 44 and the Guthrie County Airport. Radio traffic indicated the last electronic contact with the plane was near 2440 Pecan Ave. in rural Guthrie County.
It is believed the plane is a four-passenger private aircraft. It is not known how many people were aboard the plane or its manufacturer or type.
ThePerryNews.com will update this story as information becomes available.
