3 bodies found in wreckage of plane in Sevier

Sevier County authorities on Sunday recovered the bodies of three people from the wreckage of a plane that had been missing for a week.

The plane carried pilot Matthew Ahrens, 37, of Bakersfield, Calif., Trista Meyer, 34, and her 9-year-old daughter, Shyann Lenz, of Rocet, Wyo., when it took off after a fuel stop in Fillmore.

Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter discovered the wreckage about 8 a.m. Sunday, about a mile from the Millard-Sevier County line. Officials said the plane was discovered in Sevier County, about 14 miles east of Fillmore, where the plane stopped Nov. 25 to refuel on its way to Gillette, Wyo.

Curtis said the plane appeared to have flown into the side of a mountain, but there were no obvious signs of what caused it to crash.

He said the cause remained under investigation and investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon.

He said authorities were not confirming the identities of the three victims until their families could be notified. Autopsies had been ordered.

"Our hearts go out to the families of those three," Curtis said.

The plane was en route from Bakersfield to Gillette when it crashed. Two dogs also were aboard the plane.

jstecklein@sltrib.com