Wreckage of small plane piloted by Washington man found in Cascade foothills in Oregon



AURORA, Ore. (KPTV and AP) -- A body and the wreckage of a missing Piper airplane that was being piloted by a Vancouver, Wash., man was found Friday in the Cascade foothills in Linn County, Ore.

The Linn County Sheriff's Office said a ground team confirmed it was the plane that search teams have been trying to locate since it went missing on Tuesday.

The Oregon Civil Air Patrol said sheriff's deputies are starting recovery efforts.

The wreckage was found in the Coburg Hills just east of Interstate 5 in southern Linn County. The site is on Mount Tom, a 3,170-foot peak.The wreckage was pinpointed Friday morning by an Oregon Army National Guard helicopter.

The missing pilot is 41-year-old Lee Leslie of Vancouver, Washington. He took off from Hobby Field south of Eugene in a single-engine plane Tuesday evening.

It disappeared from radar about 15 minutes later.

The airfield is at Creswell. The crash site is about 20 miles northeast.