The bodies of a Gilroy man and his granddaughter were found Sunday morning in the wreckage of a 1950 Cessna that was reported as overdue to Frazier Lake Airpark in northern San Benito County on Saturday. The plane took off around noon Saturday and had yet to return when the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office was notified at 9:50 p.m. Saturday night. The Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office said Jon R. Dennis, 69, was the pilot and owner of the plane and Kiely R. Vaca, 18, of San Jose, was the passenger.
After receiving the report, the Sheriff’s Office contacted United States Air Force Search and Rescue and coordinated search efforts with the Civil Air Patrol. Officials said the plane, a 1950 Cessna 140 A Tail #N5612CWhite with red nose and red stripe down the side, was occupied by one male and one female when it took off. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office later worked the crash site in the remote hills east of Gilroy.
The plane was scheduled to fly to Watsonville, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.