Missing pilot's body recovered

The airplane of Clayton Beck, an experienced Truckee-area pilot whose plane went missing last week, has been found in a heavily wooded area in Sierra County, officials said.

A body, matching the description of the missing pilot, was found in the wreckage, but it has not been positively identified, the Sierra County Sheriff's Department said.

Members of the Civil Air Patrol sighted what appeared to be aircraft debris east of Sierraville late Saturday morning. Investigators from the Sierra County Sheriff's Office, assisted by Nevada County Sheriff's investigators and the California Highway Patrol, reached the wreckage at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and Sierra County sheriff's officials will investigate the accident.

Beck, 37, flew out of Truckee-Tahoe Airport Wednesday for a short flight around the Truckee area, and he did not arrive at an appointment in Reno that evening. His wife, Lisa Beck, reported him missing after he failed to return home Thursday, the Sierra Sun reported.

Members of the Civil Air Patrol and the California Office of Emergency Services searched for Beck's single-engine, two-seater RV-6 experimental aircraft in a 90-mile area around the airport, where he typically flew.

On Thursday, volunteer pilots had searched in vain for Beck's emergency locator beacon, search coordinator Robert Todd told the Sierra Sun.

To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.