Authorities say it will take some time before crews can access a rural Nye County plane crash site to search for a pilot presumed to be dead.
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office says a Game Warden found the small plane’s wreckage near Mount Jefferson last Saturday.
The plane, a Piper PA-32-300, and pilot, Michael Martin were last seen on January 2nd. Since then, drones, helicopters and planes have searched for the Las Vegas man and plane.
In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office says, “Based on photos of the crashed plane, there would be no chance of survival. As of today, we have exhausted all possibilities of reaching the crash site at this time to complete a recovery.
“We expect it to be several weeks until we will have access to the necessary resources to get into the very rugged area to confirm that Mr. Martin is in the plane.”
JANUARY 21, 2025:
A small plane that was reported missing earlier this month has been found in rural Nye County.
Our Las Vegas affiliate KLAS reports that the Piper PA-32-300 was found near Mount Jefferson.
The pilot, Michael Martin remains missing, last seen on January 2. The Nye County Sheriff’s has since suspended a search for Martin.
On January 5, officials say a report was made to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office of a missing or overdue airplane. The plane was last located on radar in the area of Tonopah and Round Mountain.
Martin was reported as missing through the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The Nye County Sheriff’s Office, in cooperation with the Nevada National Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, Civil Air Patrol and multiple other agencies have been searching the areas where the plane was last seen over the last two weeks.
Searches were also done using drones, planes, helicopters, on-foot and in-vehicle patrols.
The sheriff’s office says that hundreds of man-hours were committed to locating the airplane and its pilot with no results; and that if any new information comes to light, they will continue to follow any leads.
