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2 park rangers die in small plane crash

By the CNN Wires Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Both victims worked for the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
  • Rescue workers have located wreckage in remote area

(CNN) -- Rescue workers in Utah have found the wreckage of a small plane that crashed Friday night, killing two park rangers on board.

Becki Bronson, spokeswoman for the Garfield County Sheriff's Office, said the victims were Brent McGinn and Laurie Axelson, who both worked for the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

The two rangers took off Friday from the Bryce Canyon airport in a Cessna 172, bound for an airport in Page, Utah. They failed to arrive as planned Friday night.

Early Saturday morning, sheriff's deputies from Garfield and Kane counties mounted a search, along with the U.S. National Park Service and other agencies. About two hours later, the missing plane was spotted in a rugged area of Mount Dutton, in a spot known as Deep Creek.

Officials don't know why the plane crashed, but a investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Garfield County Sheriff's Office is under way.

CNN's Sara Pratley contributed to this report.