Ten people, including a child, were on board the plane when it went down shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday, the US Coast Guard Pacific Northwest District said in a news release. Searches by the USCG and local agencies spanned about 2,100 nautical miles, the statement added. The body of one person has been recovered, according to the statement. Initial reports indicated that nine people were on board.
“It’s always difficult when the time comes to make the decision to call off the search,” Capt. Daniel Broadhurst, chief of the Coast Guard’s 13th District Incident Management Branch, said in the statement. “The hearts of all first responders go out to those who lost a family member, loved one or friend in the crash.”
Mutiny Bay is located west of Whidbey Island and about an hour north of Seattle.
USCG Pacific Northwest tweeted Sunday night that the plane was headed to Renton, Wash., despite earlier reports that it was headed to Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
The Coast Guard sent rescue helicopters, boats and planes to carry out the search. First responders from South Whidbey Fire, the Island County Sheriff’s Office and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office were also on the scene, according to the USCG statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the accident, according to the USCG.