Local News

The Associated Press

Rescue crews spent their fourth straight day looking for a skydiver who vanished during a jump above Washington’s Cascade foothills, but found no sign of the Florida man by dusk.

King County sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West says 100 searchers were out near 4,200-foot Mount Si east of Seattle early Sunday to find 29-year-old Kurt Ruppert of Lake City, Fla.

Ruppert hasn’t been seen since he jumped out of a helicopter at 6,500 feet Thursday afternoon, wearing a special wing suit with fabric under the arms to allow him to glide like a flying squirrel.

Crews narrowed their search area Saturday, based on data from Ruppert’s cell phone and the helicopter’s flight path.

The Associated Press

Rescue crews are spending their fourth straight day looking for a skydiver who vanished during a jump above Washington’s Cascade foothills.

King County sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West says searchers were back out near 4,200-foot Mount Si east of Seattle at first light Sunday, hoping to find 29-year-old Kurt Ruppert of Lake City, Fla.

Ruppert hasn’t been seen since he jumped out of a helicopter at 6,500 feet Thursday afternoon, wearing a special wing suit with fabric under the arms to allow him to glide like a flying squirrel.

Crews narrowed their search area on Saturday, based on data from Ruppert’s cell phone and the helicopter’s flight path, but still haven’t found any sign of him.

UPDATE 9:30 A.M.| About 50 search and rescue volunteers are combing the Mount Si area near North Bend this morning in search of a skydiver who went missing yesterday.

The 29-year-old Florida man jumped from a two-seater, bubble-style, helicopter at 6,500 feet, says King County sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West. Dressed in what West calls a “squirrel suit,” the man was supposed to free-fall to about 2,000 feet, then pull his parachute cord. Spotters on the ground, however, never saw the parachute, nor did they spot the man, West said.

The sheriff’s office was called around 2:30 p.m. and search and rescue crews looked for the man on Thursday. They resumed their search early this morning. They are combing through a few miles of thick brush, West said.

The helicopter is believed to be privately owned. The missing man’s father is en route to Seattle today, West said.

A squirrel suit is one of several names for what are called wingsuits, specialized jumpsuits that have fabric between the arms and legs to create more lift. Users start their wingsuit flights from up high, opening their chutes at the end of their jumps.

EARLIER POST

A search has been launched for a helicopter skydiver who is reported missing near Mount Si, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

The helicopter pilot reported that the skydiver had jumped from about 2,000 feet, but never made it to the landing site. The pilot was not sure whether the skydiver’s parachute had opened.

Search-and-rescue workers are searching for the man.

Mount Si as seen from North Bend. (Photo by Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)

The Mount Si and Little Si trailheads and trails will reopen at 8 a.m. Friday, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

Access to the area was closed after a lightplane crashed in the Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area  on February 15. All three people in the plane were killed.

According to the DNR:

Initially, the area was closed while federal and local teams conducted an investigation into the cause of the crash. The area remained closed so that a helicopter salvage operation could remove the wreckage safely without risk to the public. Recovery efforts have been delayed due to winter weather conditions and poor visibility.

The state hopes to remove the plane wreckage before Friday, but even if that is delayed, the area will still be reopened. The area may have to be closed for a day down the road to remove the wreckage.

For updates on the status of the area, go to the DNR’s South Puget Sound Region Recreation web page and follow the link to King County.

Those who died in the crash of the single-engine Cessna 172 were pilot Rob Hill, 30, Seth Dawson, 31, and Liz Redling, 29.

Trailheads and trails to Mount Si and Little Si are still closed after a Feb. 15 plane crash.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources announced the continued closure in a news release Monday. Crews are still working to remove wreckage from the plane crash, which killed three.

The plane’s removal has been hampered by snow and winter weather — problems the department expects will continue into this weekend, according to the release. Search-and-rescue teams and a helicopter will be needed to remove the plane, and the helicopter’s flight path will cross over some trails.

The single-engine plane crashed in the early hours of Feb. 15 in the Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area.

Mount Si hiking trails are closed through the three-day Presidents Day weekend for the investigation of Wednesday’s small plane crash that killed three people.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office says the crash killed Rob Marshall Hill, 30, Seth Dawson, 31, and Elizabeth Redling, 29.

Hill was the pilot and a flight instructor at AcuWings, a Renton flying school, but he was not on an instructional flight. An AcuWings executive, Baha Acuner, said he had no idea what they were doing.

Hill also was a swim coach at Decatur High School and Dawson coached swimming at Kentlake High School in south King County. Both also coached at Valley Aquatics in Federal Way. Redling was a friend.

At a staging area near the Little Si hiking trail head, search and rescue workers prepare to head toward the scene of a small plane crash earlier today near North Bend. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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NORTH BEND – Three people have been confirmed killed after a small airplane crashed near North Bend this morning.

King County sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Cindi West said that the bodies of two males and a female were found in the wreckage of a Cessna 172. Rescuers said one of the men appeared to be older, the other two victims appeared to be in their 30s, according to Times news partner KING-TV.

West says the single-engine plane crashed before 2 a.m. on the Little Si section of Mount Si. West said that neighbors heard a “sputter, pop and an explosion.” Two deputies in the area heard the explosion as well and started looking for where it came from, West said.

“I heard it crash into a sheer cliff, and indeed that’s what’s up there,” North Bend resident Terry Jensen tells KING. “It’s a tragedy.”

West said that rescue crews were able to track the plane through an emergency beacon. Deputies are focused this morning on recovering the three bodies, West said.

The identities of the three crash victims and their flight route have not been released by authorities.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board will handle the bulk of the investigation, West said.

Preliminary information indicated the plane was not in contact with air traffic control, said FAA spokesman Mike Fergus.

Allen Kenitzer, anorther FAA spokesman, said that he expects to release updated information later today.

Mount Si is a 4,200-foot peak, popular with climbers and hikers, about 30 miles east of Seattle.