UPDATE: TUCSON, Ariz. — A medical plane with 3 people on board is missing. One of those people, Margaret Langston Allen, has Tucson ties.
She was serving as a flight paramedic on the plane. The Coast Guard has suspended its search, but the the company that owns that missing plane, tweeted just hours ago, saying it will soon start an independent search.
Candlelight vigils were held in Alaska for the three missing crew members, and one in Tucson specifically for Allen. At least 100 people showed to mourn her life. Former coworkers, fellow first responders, law enforcement officers, friends and family gathered to honor her.
ORIGINAL STORY: KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A woman with Tucson ties was traveling on a plane that went missing in Alaska.
Margaret Langston Allen, 43, was a flight paramedic aboard the aircraft. Brian Keeley of Northwest Fire confirmed that she worked for a company once known as Southwest Ambulance in Tucson. The company is now called American Medical Response.
There will be a candlelight vigil for Allen at 6 p.m. Friday at Tucson Medical Center, 5301 E. Grant Road.
Guardian Flight, which operated the medical airplane that went missing in Alaska, has released the names of those onboard.
The pilot is 63-year-old Patrick Coyle, the flight nurse is 30-year-old Stacie Rae Morse. The company statement says all are based in Juneau.
Guardian Flight Randy Lyman says the company is focusing on the crewmembers’ families during this difficult time.
The Coast Guard says the twin-engine King Air 200 took off from Anchorage on Tuesday and was expected to land in Kake but never arrived. A Guard spokeswoman says airplane debris was found Wednesday but the search continues because searchers could not immediately confirm the debris found Wednesday is that of the missing plane.
