This morning, members of the Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit are helping recover three bodies from the wreckage of a small plane that crashed near Three Finger Jack in far-eastern Linn County.

The plane is believed to be a four-passenger Cessna 182 that left Sun River Airport for a sightseeing trip Sunday afternoon and never returned, according to a news release from the Linn County Sheriff's Office. The Civil Air Patrol started looking for wreckage after the pilot didn't show up for work Monday morning.

The CAP volunteers spotted the downed aircraft shortly after 3 p.m. Monday, near the Pacific Crest Trail and about a half mile southwest of the summit of Three Finger Jack. Two Oregon Army National Guard helicopters from the Salem-based 1042nd Medical Company Air Ambulance flew to the scene, and a crew member rappelled down and confirmed that all three occupants of the plane were still in the cabin, and all were dead.

The plane was badly damaged in the crash, to the point that extrication tools will be needed to get the bodies out.

Santiam Sno-Park was closed Monday night and an operations base will be set up for the recovery operation today. The mountain rescue unit is joined by Linn County Sheriff's deputies and Explorer post members, as well as volunteers from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The area is covered in deep snow, and the crash location is four to five miles from U.S. Highway 20.

As of press time Monday night, the fallen aviators' names were being withheld pending notification of family members.