CAP seeks overdue aircraft

DURANGO — The Civil Air Patrol is scouring rugged terrain near Rocky Mountain National Park for an overdue aircraft.

According to on-call Incident Commander Mark Young, the twin-engine craft took off from Durango at around 6 this morning and picked up a passenger in Hayden, Colo.

The two individuals on board were due in Fort Collins at 9 a.m., but did not arrive. Their families alerted authorities at 11 a.m.

"There is an area of interest north of the Hayden airport, but we're searching all-out," Young, of Montrose, said. "We're looking at cell phone data, radar data and an aerial search. We're getting some ground teams on standby."

Three planes were sent up earlier today and three more were ready to launch this afternoon.

Young said there was some fog and wind in the flight area this morning.

The CAP is not releasing the names of those on board, but Young said the pilot was "very experienced."