A downed airplane found late Tuesday afternoon about 21 miles east of Mahnomen, the Mahnomen County Sheriff's Department reported.
It wasn't known late Tuesday if the airplane, found about 4:30 p.m. near the Clearwater County border with Mahnomen County in northwestern Minnesota, was the one flown by Andrew Lindberg, the 32-year-old Farmington pilot whose airplane has been missing since Friday.
WCCO reported Mahnomen County Sheriff Doug Krier said a private pilot spotted the downed airplane. The pilot flew to Mahnomen and picked up a deputy, who confirmed what he saw was a downed plane.
A Mahnomen County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said a search of the crash site will start early Wednesday and will involve deputies from Mahnomen, Clearwater and Becker counties; White Earth Tribal Police officers; and the State Patrol.
It wasn't known if search and rescue teams had been to the crash site or whether anyone was found at the crash site. The Mahnomen County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said further information was unavailable Tuesday night.
The search for Lindberg's airplane had focused on Wadena County, to the north and northwest of the city of Staples. The last contact Lindberg had with anyone was a text message sent to a family member from the Staples area and Civil Air Patrol crews on the ground and in the air have focused their search in the area.
Major Al Pabon of the Civil Air Patrol's Minnesota Wing said late Tuesday that he'd received no information about a downed aircraft being found and that the Civil Air Patrol planned to resume search operations Wednesday morning.
Wadena County Sheriff Mike Carr said Lindberg's family was in his county Tuesday searching for the airplane when they learned the news that airplane wreckage had been found in Clearwater County. The family left for Clearwater County, he said.
Lindberg was flying Friday in a PA-28 Piper Cherokee from Lakeville to Hallock in northwest Minnesota to deer hunt with his family.
A few miles to the east of the search area for Lindberg, family members continue to search for Peter Achermann, an 82-year-old Leader man who has been missing since July 24.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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