LINDEN, Iowa — Emergency responders are apparently narrowing their search Saturday morning for the site of a plane crash in rural Guthrie County west of Linden.
A flare was reportedly seen near 300th Street and Ranch Road (County Road P20) north of Menlo just before midnight.
EMS personnel are reportedly staging at this hour at the intersection of Monteith Road (County Road F51) and Wagon Road (County Road P28) west of Linden and west of the Milo Ray State Wildlife Area.
Air ambulances are also staging in the area, according to radio traffic.
The exact site of the crash has not been confirmed. Searchers are in the area near Dale and Glendon in Guthrie County.
Unconfirmed reports about 9 p.m. Friday indicated the private 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 directed toward an emergency landing first 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 departments and the Civil Air Patrol mobilized to search for the lost plane.
It is believed the plane is a four-passenger private aircraft. It is not known how many people were aboard the plane or the extent of injuries.
ThePerryNews.com will update this story as information becomes available.
