http://www.katv.com/story/24604609/forestry-pilot-fails-to-check-in-with-central-dispatch




Officials said 34-year-old Jake Harrell was last heard from by AFC Dispatch at 1:11 p.m. Friday afternoon.

North Little Rock Police Department spokesman Sergeant Brian Dedrick said Harrell had been with the department for six months before the military called him to active duty. He said Harrell has since been serving with the Arkansas Air National Guard 188th Fighter Wing for the last 18 months.  

Searchers are continuing to look for Harrell on the ground and by air.  

The plane was flying a standard detection route through west Arkansas, locating possible wildfires and relaying GPS coordinates back to Central Dispatch. Pilots check in every thirty minutes as a safety practice on all flights.

A command center has been set up in Mena to find Harrell. The Forestry Commission, U.S. Forest Service, Polk and Montgomery County deputies, Arkansas Game and Fish, Arkansas National Guard, Arkansas State Police, Civil Air Patrol and Emergency Management crews have joined in the search. 

"We are using every resource available to locate the whereabouts of our missing pilot. We will focus today on the areas closest to his last known location and possible spots west and south of that point. Thank you to everyone sending prayers and support," said AFC Investigator and scene Incident Commander, Billy Black.

Sgt. Dedrick said the NLR Police Department's prayers are with Harrell's family as crews continue to work on the search and recovery effort.  

Stay with KATV News and KATV.com for more information on this developing story as it becomes available.  

 



Please keep him in your prayers for a safe return home.

 

Sad to hear. Some dense forest on that part of the state.
Hope they find him soon.

 

Is this like a bird dog mission in a C-90 or something like they do up in Canada for the tanker drivers or was he in something smaller?

-M

 

Sad to hear that...hope they find him soon.

Do these guys run pretty low to the ground? Seems like higher would be better for the initial spotting. A lot of forest out there though.

 

Posted on the Arkansas Department of Forestry FB page about 40 minutes ago.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...52189592314929

 

Hope he is ok, and hope they find him soon.
A navajo went missing between minneapolis and Duluth a few years ago. Because the similarly dense wooded areas along the route, they have yet to find the aircraft.

 

Pilot scouting Arkansas forest fires goes missing, search ensues - latimes.com

Some one asked about the aircraft.
This article reports it was a C-210.

 

The wreckage and pilot remains were found today. There is not even speculation at this point about what happened.

 

Glad to hear they found the airplane and pilot.
I had looked at their website on Monday and saw that they were still looking.
At least the family and friends can have some measure of closure.