Numerous agencies across southwest Iowa assisted the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office in their search for the plane crash that killed four people near Guthrie Center this past weekend.

This was the first time in Sheriff Marty Arganbright’s career that he searched for a missing plane, and they didn’t get the outcome they were hoping for, as the agencies found the passengers deceased on scene. Arganbright commented on the search, “We did as good as we could, trying to figure out where the plane (was), pinpoint where it could be. We had some different locations and we were close on finding the plane, it was just hard because of the darkness and the terrain and hills and timber, and it just all played part into making it hard to find a plane.”

All passengers of the plane died at the scene: pilot 49-year-old Edward Ralph Anderson of Le Mars, 36-year-old Patrick Kellen of Le Mars, 28-year-old Tyler Douvia of Merrill, and 15-year-old Samantha Clark of Le Mars. The group were flying from Le Mars to Osceola when Anderson suffered a heart attack and a student pilot attempted an emergency landing Friday night. Crews searched for about 12 hours until the plane was spotted at about 6:31 a.m. Saturday morning in a cow pasture southwest of Guthrie Center.

The Federal Aviation Administration is handling the investigation. Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you more information as it becomes official.