Two people from California died when the small plane they were in for a short flight across Arizona crashed, authorities said Monday.
Timothy Michael Gill, 37, and Joylani Roseann Kamalu, 40, were reported missing Sunday night by a family member who said Gill had not arrived to work as scheduled earlier that day, according to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office.
Gill and Kamalu were supposed to be on a flight from Sedona, Arizona to the Grand Canyon Airport, authorities said. They were scheduled to arrive at their destination at 9 a.m. Sunday but never made it.
"Investigators immediately focused on attempting to search for the aircraft at the Sedona and Grand Canyon airports," the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said.
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Gill's parents said they believe the plane carrying their son and daughter-in-law crashed on Thursday as the couple was in Arizona to celebrate Kamalu's 40th birthday. They're not sure how it happened, but think something caused the plane to lose altitude.
The Sheriff's Department reported the pair was from Vista, California, but Gill's parents said they were from Lake Forrest, California near Irvine.
The investigation eventually led law enforcement officers to an area near the Williams Airport, also known as the HA Clark Airfield, about halfway on the plane's scheduled route, authorities said.
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A crashed plane was located in a wooded area at about 1:40 a.m. on Monday, the sheriff's office said.
Both Gill and Kamalu were pronounced dead at the crash site.
Gill, a musician who also worked for Disney, leaves behind three children, ages 14, 15, and 18, who are with their mom in Idaho, Gill's parents said.
The couple shared their various adventures in flight on their Instagram and YouTube pages. They described themselves as "grassroots aviators."
Investigators have not yet determined what caused the small plane to go down. The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office.
