Airplane wreckage found near Cottage Grove, no sign of 3 aboard

Authorities on Monday located the wreckage of a small airplane that went missing with three people aboard in the southeast metro over the Mississippi River.

The search for the plane began Sunday night at Grey Cloud Island. The airplane departed from nearby South St. Paul Municipal Airport earlier in the day, said airport director Andrew Wall.

The wreckage was located about 9 a.m., but no other details about the crash or those aboard were immediately available, said Cottage Grove city spokesman Scott Seroka.

The plane has yet to be recovered.

Throughout Sunday evening and until 4 a.m. Monday, sheriff's deputies and police officers searched the privately owned quarry with boats and lights, the statement said.

They found plane debris, leading them to believe they were searching in the correct area.

"The search operation conditions are difficult, as the quarry walls are sand-based and the quarry itself is up to 200 feet deep," the statement read.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was waiting to be notified by local authorities about the fate of the plane.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482