ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska officials say they have suspended a search for two people believed to have been on board a small airplane that crashed near Anchorage’s north border.
The crash took place overnight Thursday, and the plane spotted early Friday morning on the mudflats of Knik Arm near the Birchwood Airport. The Anchorage Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard conducted air, land and sea efforts on Friday.
Three Civil Air Patrol aircraft had been deployed since 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead said in an email Saturday afternoon that the 11th Air Force’s Rescue Coordination Center had decided to suspend the efforts.
Authorities say friends and family will continue searching by air and on nearby public beaches for the two people, who have not been identified.
