OLYMPIA – Air search and rescue teams are moving to the Olympia Airport this morning (Oct. 14) to resume the search for a missing Lake Roesiger pilot, Gordon Last, 51, and his Taylorcraft two-seat airplane. Last has been missing since Saturday, Oct. 10.

Searchers have received tips from witnesses and a radar forensics team that suggest the missing pilot may have landed in Westport, walked into town and then departed to the northeast between 3 – 5 p.m. on Oct 10.
 
Searchers are now focusing on the area between Shelton and Westport.  The search area is about 1,900 square miles covering Grays Harbor County, the southeast corner of Thurston County and a small piece of northwest Lewis County.
 
Rainy and cloudy weather this morning is preventing the deployment of search aircraft.  Air searches today will be weather dependent.
For the past three days, search and rescue personnel have conducted air search operations to locate Last and his missing airplane. Searchers from WSDOT Aviation, Civil Air Patrol, Washington Air Search and Rescue and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office have participated in the effort.

Last’s plane departed from Harvey Field Airport in Snohomish on Saturday afternoon. He was expected to return to Harvey Field later that afternoon. His girlfriend reported him as missing when he failed to return.

According to reports, the plane had no emergency locator beacon or transponder on board, and no flight plan was filed.

Anyone who may have information on this aircraft is encouraged to contact the search staff at missingaircraft@wsdot.wa.gov or 360-410-0461.