Bodies of Air Crash Victims Recovered Off Coast
The bodies of a man and a woman who had been missing since June 28, when their plane crashed into the ocean off the Santa Barbara coast, have been recovered, authorities said.
The bodies of Dennis Jones, 47, and Joan (Cookie) Jones, 66, both of Montecito, were recovered Thursday about a half-mile off shore.
The bodies were found by Champion Air Salvage of San Diego about three-quarters of a mile west of Hendry’s Beach, said Senior Deputy Tom Walton of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department.
Coast Guard officials had recovered the bodies of 7- and 10-year-old brothers Matthew and Sam Hacker, who had also been passengers in the plane, on June 29. The boys, residents of Orinda, were the grandsons of Joan Jones.
Wreckage of the twin-engine Mitsubishi turboprop, believed to have been piloted by Dennis Jones, was sighted at 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, Walton said.
The aircraft was en route to Santa Barbara from Santa Monica Airport when the crash occurred.
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