Still No Signs of Lost Airplane in Idaho Mountains

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — More search and rescue personnel have joined a team scouring the central Idaho mountains for five people aboard a plane that disappeared two days ago.

Rob Feeley of the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security said Wednesday the search has resumed with seven aircraft and at least 18 new members of a ground party looking for the Beech Bonanza piloted by Dale Smith, a 51-year-old software executive from San Jose, Calif. Smith departed Sunday from eastern Oregon with four family members bound for Butte, Mont.

He reported engine trouble and sought coordinates for a landing strip near the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness 150 miles northeast of Boise. Though a faint emergency beacon was detected, pinpointing it has been difficult because it may be bouncing off the steep, densely-forested mountains.