The Coast Guard announced Monday that their search for nine people who have been missing since the crash of a floatplane off Seattle on Sunday has been called off. One person was already confirmed dead in the Mutiny Bay area of Puget Sounds after a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter floatplane carrying 10 people went down off Whidbey Island about 3:10 p.m. Sunday. The Coast Guard said that one of the nine who were included in the now-suspended search is a child. The plane took off from Friday Harbor, Washington, roughly 100 miles north of Seattle, en route to the Seattle area; the crash site off Whidbey Island is about 40 miles north of Seattle.
Capt. Daniel Broadhurst of the 13th Coast Guard District said in a statement Monday: “It is always difficult when it comes time to make a decision to stop searching. The hearts of all the first responders go out to those who lost a family member, a loved one or a friend in the crash.” The Coast Guard said a remotely operated underwater vehicle and a drone will continue to assist in searching for wreckage and debris.
The Coast Guard was assisted by other agencies in the search including the Island County Sheriff’s Office, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and South Whidbey Fire/EMS. The federal agency said that “in total, the Coast Guard conducted 26 search sorties, searching 1,283 nautical miles of track line covering an area of approximately 2,100 square nautical miles.”
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