Families thank crews after discovery of plane wreckage in B.C.

Plane wreckage found in B.C. It’s believed to be the Edmonton-bound plane that disappeared nearly a year ago. CTV Edmonton’s David Ewasuk reports.

Nearly one year after an Edmonton-bound plane went missing in B.C., crews in that province said they had found the wreckage of a small aircraft matching its description.

RCMP in Revelstoke, B.C. said they were notified a B.C. Ambulance Service helicopter crew had found the wreckage of a plane Monday, September 10.

“B.C. Ambulance Service was flying back to Kamloops from a collision near Field yesterday, and spotted the wreckage believed to be the missing plane from the November 2017 incident,” Const. Spencer Lainchbury said in an interview with CTV News.

“They were able to note that the plane was white and burgundy with a tail marker that matched the missing plane.”

Const. Lainchbury said the wreckage was found east of Revelstoke in Glacier National Park.

Back on November 25, 2017, the Kamloops Flight Centre reported a plane had left Penticton for Edmonton, but had dropped off of radar.

The plane was described as a Mooney M20D, with markings C-FESN. Dominic Neron, 28, from Parkland County Alberta was piloting the plane, and Ashley Bourgeault, 31, from Edmonton was also on board.

RCMP said investigators determined the plane had crashed in the Revelstoke area. Crews searched the area for nine days, but did not find the plane.

In a news release, RCMP thanked the helicopter pilots and crew for keeping an eye out and finding the plane, and “assisting to bring closure to the two families.”

Family grateful wreckage found

Neron’s sister Tammy posted a statement in a Facebook group focused on funding the missing plane late Tuesday morning.

“Our families cannot thank each and every one of you enough for embracing us during what’s been the hardest 10 months of our lives!” she said in her post.

“We just want to express our gratitude towards the men and women who have contributed to helping us locate Ashley and Dominic,” Bourgeault’s sister Samantha McClellan said. “They never gave up, they always kept their eyes open and it has paid off. We just are so grateful for that.”

McClellan said they were waiting for more details on the wreckage to come in.

“Until we get further news we just want to spend time together as a family and absorb everything that’s happening,” McClellan said. “Ten months later, it’s almost as if we’re back to that day.”

McClellan said the family would release a statement when they know more.

Since December 2017, Revelstoke RCMP had maintained an open missing persons and plane investigation. The families of Neron and Bourgeault were active in the area, using drones to search, gathering tips and searching a number of areas.

The families were also raising money in order to continue the search after officials suspended their search in early December.

Now, investigators are working to get to the crash site.

“We’re currently accessing the scene, it is a remote location but there shouldn’t be any issues with weather,” Const. Lainchbury said. “We’re hoping there won’t be any issues with weather as far as accessing it, and we would have to go from there once we get on site.”

With files from David Ewasuk