Missing helicopter found after search by Quebec provincial police, military
No confirmation on if pilot has been found
Quebec provincial police have found the crash site of a helicopter that went missing in the Laurentians, north of Montreal, but are not commenting on where it was found, or if the the pilot has been found.
The pilot, a man in his 50s from Rouyn-Noranda, Que., left that city around 10:30 a.m. ET Monday.
The helicopter was expected to arrive at Mirabel around 1 p.m., but never did.
The man's former flight instructor called police and Nav Canada around 4:30 p.m. after he failed to show up at his destination.
Provincial police Sgt. Stéphane Tremblay said the pilot was last heard from around noon, while flying over the Mont-Laurier area, about 325 kilometres away from Rouyn-Noranda, as the crow flies.
The pilot, who was alone on the helicopter, has about 100 hours of flying experience, Tremblay said.
His cellphone was traced to an area near Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard, 50 kilometres north of Mirabel.
That is where search efforts were centred. Police were on the ground in cars and all-terrain vehicles near Lac Saint-Joseph, a lake in Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard.
Helicopters belonging to the Department of National Defence and police have been involved in searching the area.
With files from Lauren McCallum