Missing Pilot George Regis's Body Recovered After Mt. Hood Crash

MT. HOOD, OR – Recovery teams are transporting the body of 63-year-old George Regis off of Mt. Hood. Regis, a pilot who lived in Battle Ground, WA., had crashed not long after taking off from Grove Field in Camas on Friday. His plane and body were spotted on Tuesday afternoon.

The recovery effort started around 4:30 on Wednesday morning when teams set out for the crash site by the 8,750-foot level of Eliot Glacier on the mountain's north side. They reached Regis around 9 a.m..

The recovery effort includes teams from the Hood River Crag Rats, the 125th Special Tactics Squadron of the Oregon Air National Guard, and the 304th Rescue Squadron of the Air Force Reserve Command.

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They are bringing Regis first to the Cloud Cap Inn and from there to Hood River.

Recovery of his plane will be coordinated by the United States Forest Service and take place at a later date.

The Hood River Sheriff's Office was contacted by the colleagues in Clackamas County on Tuesday that Civil Air Patrol located a signal the emergency locator on Regis's plane and that they'd been able to narrow it down to Eliot Glacier, on the north side of Hood.

Just after 3 p.m., a second CAP pilot flew over and confirmed that the tail number on the crashed plane matched that of Regis's plane.

Minutes later, a helicopter from the Oregon Air National Guard also flew over the crash site. They provided a second confirmation that it was Regis's plane.

The helicopter crew also saw the body of someone who died in the crash. Officials say that the person is Regis.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Deputy Bryce Smith and Sergeant Dave Nelson of the Clark County Sheriff's Office went to Regis's home to notify his wife of what had happened.

While there, they noticed a leaky pipe by the front door.

Officials say that there was a lot of water and, with the temperature below freezing, it was likely problematic.

Regis's wife told them it had been that way for some time.

Smith said he had some good tape that would work in this situation and ran home to get it.

Smith returned and the deputies were able to fix the pipe in a way that will hold until the family is able to deal with it.

Photos via Clark County Sheriff's Office.