Teams Search for Plane Carrying 8 Federal Workers

MONTROSE, Colo. — Search parties scoured the woods and mountains Thursday for a chartered plane that vanished while carrying eight employees of the federal Bureau of Reclamation and a pilot to a meeting in Arizona.

Rescuers focused on a rugged, snow-covered forest 23 miles south of Montrose, where radar indicated the single-engine Cessna may have gone down in clear weather Wednesday shortly after takeoff.

“The challenge is there’s a lot of thick brush and pine trees and low visibility,” said Air Force Capt. Leslie Pratt.

The employees on board included William H. Duncan, who manages the Glen Canyon power plant and dam on the Colorado River in Arizona; Jeff Waite, who manages the power plant; Delphina Holliman, Walt Kaltmaier and Catrina Wall, computer specialists; and Jim Bloomfield, electrical engineer. All worked at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Page, Ariz., office.

The two other bureau employees aboard were Al Inman, who manages the agency’s Montrose office, and Jon Nees, a safety and occupational health specialist, also of the Montrose office.