An independent searcher located the wreckage of the plane — a privately owned twin-engine Grumman American GA-7 — on a steep embankment off Route 60, north of Turner Road, in the town of Ellicott roughly a mile east from the airport, according to reports from Sheriff James Quattrone and Arlene Salac, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman. A portion of Route 380, near Route 60, was closed to traffic for several hours following the discovery.

Quattrone’s office, via review from a county medical director and the county coroner, confirmed that all three occupants of the four-passenger plane had perished and identified the souls lost as Alan Fuller, Valerie Holmes and Linda Edwards, each of northern Pennsylvania. He said that those on the plane knew each other and that the pilot and his sister had been joined by a family friend.

Their bodies were recovered in the wreckage.

“We have since then confirmed that there were no survivors, so we had three fatalities in this wreckage,” Quattrone said during a press conference Monday morning. “Currently, we are waiting for the FAA to return or come to the scene to complete their investigation.”

Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone, right, speaks to the media Monday afternoon with county emergency services director John Griffith looking on. P-J photo by Cameron Hurst

The occupants had been flying to Jamestown from Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport in Burlington, N.C., 20 miles east of Greensboro. According to flightaware.com, it left that airport at 2:58 p.m. on Sunday, two minutes earlier than its scheduled departure at 3 p.m. and had been scheduled to land at 5:14 p.m. Authorities said that air traffic control in Buffalo lost signal with the pilot at 5:47 p.m. but did not receive any distress call from the plane before the signal was lost, only that it had experienced turbulence, likely due to the winter weather, Quattrone said.

“I believe that, that was a big part of it if not the cause of the crash,” he said.

Earlier on Sunday, the aircraft had traveled from Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, N.C. to the airport in Burlington. It had last been at the Chautauqua County Airport in Jamestown on Oct. 28.

That website lists Cougar Air JV LLC as the aircraft’s owner. According to nycompanyregistry.com, the limited liability company lists 3163 Airport Drive in Jamestown as its address and that it had been incorporated in August of 2019. Quattrone said it is believed the pilot and at least one other person owned the aircraft.

A massive search commenced and comprised of more than a dozen area volunteer fire departments, four police agencies and the county’s search and rescue team. Crews of about 135 were out until about 1 a.m. Monday looking for the plane and included a large swath of land east of the airport, including Ross Mills Road.

Authorities were able to use a cell phone signal and the plane’s blackbox to pinpoint its approximate location.

“It was very close to the area where we searched last night based on the information that air traffic control and the airport gave us, but because of the darkness of the terrain, we figured daylight would help us better,” Quattrone said. “It was in the location where the pings had been located.”

Quattrone said various family members of those on the plane have been contacted. The sheriff said he believes weather may have played a role in the plane going missing. According to the National Weather Service, winds were at 22 mph at the recorded time of 5:56 p.m., with gusts reaching 35 mph. The conditions in the Jamestown area were described as light snow, fog/mist and breezy. There was also 1 mile of visibility at the time.

Of the manpower the investigating offices received, Quattrone said he could not have been more grateful to those who volunteered their time to aid in the search.

“We are blessed to have the volunteer core that we have,” he said. “The nearly 130 or so volunteers that were out here searching for the wreckage of the plane is a testament to the kind of community we live in. We’re proud of the work we do.”

Quattrone said Sunday night that U.S. Department of Homeland Security had sent a representative to assist. A press inquiry to the department went unanswered as of press time.