The site of a plane crash that killed three people was found near Yellowstone National Park using the last known location of a victim’s smartwatch, authorities said.
The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that at around 1:41 p.m. on July 18, West Yellowstone Dispatch received a report of a possible crash from the U.S. Department of Transportation Aero Division. A Piper PA-28 aircraft that had departed West Yellowstone Airport just before midnight the night prior failed to arrive at its destination.
Search planes were deployed using the last known location from an occupant’s smartwatch, and at 2:13 p.m., the wreckage was located in dense timber just south of West Yellowstone near South Plateau Road.
Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue units from the West Yellowstone Section, Big Sky Section, Heli Team, and Communications Team responded to the crash site. Upon arrival, SAR members confirmed all three occupants were deceased. Their bodies were recovered from the wreckage and airlifted to waiting Gallatin County authorities. A deputy coroner with the sheriffs office took custody of the remains.
The victims have been identified as 60-year-old Rodney Conover and 23-year-old Madison Conover, both of Tennessee, and 55-year-old Kurt Enoch Robey of Utah. Next of kin have been notified.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
“Sheriff [Dan] Springer would like to extend his deepest condolences to the Conover and Robey families for their respective losses,” the sheriff’s office said.
