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Powerful SR-71 spy plane joins search for pilot
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 (315K/14 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
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Web posted at: 1:48 p.m. EDT (1748 GMT)
EAGLE, Colorado (CNN) -- The search for a missing Air Force pilot and his warplane intensified Monday as crews scoured the rugged Colorado mountains aided by a powerful SR-71 reconnaissance craft that flew overhead.
Search teams were focusing on five snow-covered sites because they contain "irregular shapes that are not normal in nature," said Lt. Gen. Frank Campbell during a morning news conference.
Ground crews planned to go to two of the sites Monday ahead of harsh winter-like weather forecast for later in the day. Campbell said the other sites were not accessible due to possible avalanches.
Capt. Craig Button and his A-10 Thunderbolt have been missing since April 2 when Button mysteriously disappeared on a training run over Arizona. The plane dropped off radar near Eagle, Colorado, and the Air Force suspects the A-10 may have run out of fuel and crashed.
Asked how long the search might take, Campbell said, "We will not quit."
'Model' officer
Campbell said extensive interviews with 200 people have
uncovered "no evidence that will help us recover the pilot or
the plane." Refuting media reports, Campbell also said the
interviews found nothing "derogatory" about Button's
character.
(587K/27 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
"There is no evidence that he is anything but a model U.S. Air Force officer," Campbell said. Speculation as to why Button peeled away from a three-plane formation has ranged from suicide to theft.
Monday's search was to focus on an area of the White River National Forest southwest of Vail, Colorado, where roads are few and far between. The SR-71 Blackbird, equipped with high- powered radar, was expected to make two passes over the region.
A five-man ground crew used metal detectors and mountain gear to slosh through up to 12 feet of snow Sunday.
Three sites were searched because U-2 radar photos identified two as possible crash sites and a hiker with a metal detector got a reading on a third object. Two sites were eliminated. One site was just heavy snow, the other appeared to be old mining equipment.
Campbell urged the public to contact officials if they find anything suspicious in the region. "We ask them to please note the location and let us go in," he said.
Related stories:
- Ground search turns up no signs of missing Air Force jet - April 13, 1997
- Family, friends baffled by pilot's disappearance - April 13, 1997
- Spy planes search for Air Force pilot - April 12, 1997
- Air Force theory: Missing pilot intentionally flew off course - April 11, 1997
- Radar reports, sightings plot path of missing A-10 - April 11, 1997
- Air Force downplays chance that pilot stole jet - April 8, 1997
- Search expands for Air Force pilot, jet - April 6, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window- U.S. Air Force - A-10 Fact Sheet
- A-10 Warthog Homepage - Major Ed Walker
- Missing A-10 Press Releases - from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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