Rescuers were still searching for four people on board a small plane in the Mount San Jacinto area near Los Angeles on Saturday, authorities said.
The four occupants of the twin-engine plane were last seen flying into a cloud bank as a winter storm moved into the high country a week ago, authorities said.
Family members reported the four missing late Wednesday night. Two days of aerial searches have turned up no sign of the plane, said police Lt. Al Cheatham.
Authorities hoped a third successive day of clear weather in the mountains would increased their chances of spotting the missing plane.
"The plane is very light gray and white, difficult to spot in snow," Cheatham said. "We haven't assigned any ground crews yet, as far as I know. The terrain there is extremely steep and rugged."
Mountain search-and-rescue volunteers were busy through the storm in the past few days. Last week, ground crews managed to rescue two Marine sergeants who attempted to ascend an ice-encrusted trail near the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway just outside Los Angeles.
On Monday, a helicopter team rescued a woman who summited Mount San Jacinto earlier, slipped and broke an ankle, then spent two bitter-cold nights in a stone hut just below the peak.
Source: Xinhua
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