Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Jeff Hutchinson and sons Joel Hutchinson and Jeremy Hutchinson were found dead.

Really sad story:

Crews have discovered another body Tuesday afternoon during their search following a plane crash in Lake Erie.

Earlier in the afternoon, the body of a 9-year-old was found, according to the Coast Guard. The search continued for the father who was also onboard the Cessna 172C Skyhawk plane when it went down Monday night.

Jeff Hutchison, 46, was on board with his sons Joel, 7, and Jeremy, 9. The Coast Guard is unsure if the second body found is that of Hutchison.

U.S. Coast Guard, state, county and local response agencies have also located wreckage, including the fuselage, a wheel and other pieces of the Cessna aircraft.

The fuselage was detected by the side-scan sonar late Tuesday morning, approximately 700 yards off of Kelleys Island in 18-20 feet of water. Further investigation by divers discovered the second passenger.

Joel attempted to swim to shore after the plane crashed. It had just taken off from the Kelleys Island Airport. Chuck Herndon talked about helping the youngster who was a strong swimmer for his age.

"I heard this faint cry and followed it," said Herndon, who was about a half-mile off shore when the boy pulled himself into the boat.

Joel was taken to a Toledo-area hospital. He is with his mother.

The family is from Lima, Ohio.

"He said 'My father and my brother were killed in a plane crash,' just like that," Herndon said.

The search was focusing on an area where some debris and an oil sheen were found in the water off Marblehead on the nearby mainland, said Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier, a Coast Guard spokesman.

Rescuers and divers from Huron, Sandusky, Lakeside, Catawba, Put-in-Bay, Ottawa County and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources searched through the wreckage.

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