Keep your eyes out in the North Cascade next summer!

[Bronco]

I wonder if we can get ahold of the flight path?  Unfortunately it snowed a bunch since the flight so everything is buried until summer.

 

 

https://methowvalleynews.com/2019/11/26/federal-agents-pursue-plane-fleeing-from-state-airport/

 

Federal agents pursue plane fleeing from state airport

NOVEMBER 26, 2019 BY MARCY STAMPER

The Methow Valley State Airport is generally a sedate place, handling just a few flights a day. But last Wednesday (Nov. 20), federal agents in helicopters pursued an airplane that entered the U.S. from Canada and made an unauthorized landing at the state airport in Winthrop.

Agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) in Bellingham first detected the airplane and tracked it to Winthrop. When agents approached the pilot to question him, he jumped into his airplane and flew away, according to a press release from Customs and Border Protection.

As the AMO agents pursued the airplane in helicopters, they saw the pilot toss several bags out of the plane into the wilderness, according to the press release.

AMO received permission to continue the pursuit across the border. The helicopters followed the plane to the airport in Langley, British Columbia, where the pilot landed and was arrested by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police border-enforcement team and provincial and local officials. The AMO helicopters hovered overhead to keep watch while the Canadian agents seized the plane.

In 2019, AMO seized or disrupted almost 285,000 pounds of cocaine, 102,000 pounds of marijuana, 51,000 pounds of methamphetamine, 935 weapons, and $34.1 million. They made 1,575 arrests and apprehended more than 52,000 people without legal documentation to be in the U.S., according to the press release.

The Methow Valley airport is the largest of the 16 airports operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The Winthrop airport accommodates mainly small private aircraft and commercial flights for skiers. It serves as an important base for smokejumpers, helicopters and other aircraft during wildfire season, State Airports Manager Paul Wolf said.

[JasonG]

Finally somebody is replenishing the North Cascades Scooby Snacks! 

[Rad]

The heli pilots should have a good indication of where these goodies were tossed. 

Or maybe we can look for nibbling goats and snaffles acting strangely. 

 

[Whatcomboy]

Reminds me of the 1977 Yosemite story about plane going down in a lake with bales of pot and climbers hiking up to the crash site.

[Bronco]

Funny, I thought of Cliffhanger! 

[JasonG]

Or perhaps....

[G-spotter]

but let's get to the real issue:

 

 

 

did he take any pictures of alpine conditions during the flight?

[ScaredSilly]

DB Cooper already has the goods ...

[Jason4]

If you drop a straight line between the Methow Valley Airport and the Langley, BC there's a lot of good terrain in there.  It crosses directly over Silver Star, Colonial Creek Campground, the Sulphide and Upper Curtis glaciers on Shuksan and close to Lake Ann, a lot of very good ski terrain (Swift Creek, Bagley Bowl, Iceberg Lake).  It'll be interesting when bricks of coke start showing up somewhere in the woods.

[JasonG]

2 hours ago, Jason4 said:

It'll be interesting when bricks of coke start showing up somewhere in the woods.

Most people have a hard enough time in the North Cascades just finding the obvious gully- my guess is that the the drugs are destined to rot into the earth very peacefully, aided by some unhinged (even for them) Snaffles  

[glassgowkiss]

Even with a IGC file of exact flight path, I think it would be next to impossible to locate the contraband. Depending on above the ground altitude and wind velocity, it would be extremely difficult to even approximate there they landed. If indeed they were drugs and not cash or other stuff, your best bet would be use of a trained dog/s. 

[Michael Telstad]

Bump

[olyclimber]

On 12/25/2019 at 4:15 PM, glassgowkiss said:

Even with a IGC file of exact flight path, I think it would be next to impossible to locate the contraband. Depending on above the ground altitude and wind velocity, it would be extremely difficult to even approximate there they landed. If indeed they were drugs and not cash or other stuff, your best bet would be use of a trained dog/s. 

 

[Bronco]

 https://methowvalleynews.com/2020/08/26/local-climber-encounters-mysterious duffle-bag-containing-suspicious-substance/

 

According to a press release at the time, AMO agents witnessed the pilot toss several bags out of the plane into the wilderness. However, the story does not end there.

Responding Deputy Anthony Coble performed a quick drug test on the bag the climber found in July, after he returned the bag to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s office, and determined the substance was not drugs. The North Central Washington Narcotics Task Force (NCWNTF) collected the bag for evidence the next day.

So, if you happened to lose a duffel stuffed with a white crystalline substance portioned into individual Ziploc bags near Mazama, feel free to contact the task force to collect your valuables.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Bronco

[bedellympian]

Assuming it was from the plane that seems highly unlikely. Is it possible the chemicals in drugs could break down and yield a negative test after a winter and good portion of summer out there? Either that or it's a thinly veiled attempt to get those involved to incriminate themselves? What else could it be? Illegal shipment of cane sugar?

 

[JBo6]

1 hour ago, bedellympian said:

Assuming it was from the plane that seems highly unlikely. Is it possible the chemicals in drugs could break down and yield a negative test after a winter and good portion of summer out there? Either that or it's a thinly veiled attempt to get those involved to incriminate themselves? What else could it be? Illegal shipment of cane sugar?

 

Shit!  They found my duffel bag of Sugar in the Raw!! (Who likes that stuff really?)

 

I bet you are right and the rapid test they used had an issue.