The remains of a Salem father and his adult son were found amid the wreckage of a small plane crash in a remote wilderness area of the Mt. Hood National Forest near Estacada Thursday.
Jared Scott Sabin, 44, and Gavyn Scott Sabin, 19, went missing Monday morning after flying out of Salem in a Cessna 150 aircraft, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
Jared was a commercial pilot for Alaska Airlines and father of four, and Gavyn was engaged, according to a GoFundMe campaign that was created to support their family during this tragedy.
The downed plane was discovered near Fish Creek, several miles south of Estacada, where a search-and-rescue team had been searching for the missing men.
The Sabins had planned to stop in Troutdale on Monday morning before flying to Idaho and Utah, the sheriff’s office said.
Around 6 a.m. that day, the pilot reported having difficulty flying because of poor weather conditions. Air traffic control lost contact a short time later.
The sheriff’s office launched a search-and-rescue mission, but because of harsh weather conditions and challenging forest terrain, which had been devastated by a recent wildfire, the team was not able to find the crash site for several days.
On Wednesday, deputies and volunteers spent the day cutting and clearing nearly 30 large trees, clearing about 14 miles of road and about two miles of trail.
Searchers had to move through cold weather, rain, wind and 8 to 12 inches of snow at times, deputies said.
A Navy chopper and parajumpers were deployed from Whidbey Island, Wash., to help track down the crash site.
