Editor's Note: Search and rescue crews have located the crash site. The full update is available here.
It’s been a week since a Kapuskasing couple and their helicopter went missing.
With the harsh weather in the past week and the fact that crews haven’t detected someone on the ground with a light during search and rescue flights both day and night, search master Capt. Martin Zimmer says “survivability is less likely at this point.”
“Having said that, it’s not impacting our continuing search efforts, which we are continuing today,” he said.
For the second day in a row, weather is playing a factor in the search for Nicole and Jody Blais, who were last seen Monday, March 4 around 7 p.m. leaving Sudbury via helicopter. They didn’t arrive at their destination, a hangar in Fauquier.
The missing helicopter is a grey Robinson R66 with white and orange trim.
Using information from a cell phone in the aircraft pinging with cell phone towers, the search area has been narrowed down once again today.
The last known of the helicopter is now west of Timmins.
The area crews are focusing in on is now the last tower the phone pinged and the final destination in Fauquier.
“That’s reduced our search area by about 120 nautical miles, so now we’re providing more of a saturated search effort within a smaller area, so you’re getting better coverage and effectiveness,” Zimmer said.
It’s not known whether or not the helicopter was in the air when the last connection was made with the tower.
“We’ve covered this particular track...close to a dozen times at different altitudes and different visibility. We’re saturating that area right now and we’ll continue to do that throughout today’s mission efforts,” he said.
During the noon hour today, search and rescue crews were preparing for their second launch of the day.
Yesterday, Zimmer said there were eight aircraft from the RCAF and Coast Guard flying over 50 hours on 14 different flights, covering about 11,600 square kilometres with in the search area.
Today’s efforts include nine aircraft.
OPP emergency response team and the Timmins Porcupine Search and Rescue are taking part in ground search efforts.
Family and friends continue their efforts on land.
Anybody who can volunteer is being asked to go to 125 Kamiskotia Rd., where the Timmins ground search is being led from.
With the new information, organizers say volunteers for the ground search will be directed to Fauquier and Strickland.
