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EMS House of DeFrance http://www.emshouse.com Personal Pages (not always EMS related) Courtesy the EMS House of DeFrance http://www.defrance.org Severe weather in the search area for an Alaska LifeGuard helicopter missing since Monday has forced most aerial searchers to turn back until conditions improve, according to the National Guard. An HC-130 continues to fly over the area conducting an electronic sweep, and the Coast Guard cutter Sycamore is still on the water coordinating rescue operations, the Guard says. But Alaska State Troopers Helo 1 and the Valdez Civil Air Patrol have been grounded due to weather as has an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. The last known location of the missing chopper was near Esther Island, where it vanished Monday with a patient and three crew members on board. Military, state and private crews hunting for the BK117 helicopter have been unable to locate it since it went missing about 40 minutes into a 90-minute flight from Cordova to Anchorage. The LifeGuard was last heard from at 5:18 p.m. Monday. On board were pilot Lance Brabham, 42, of Soldotna; paramedic Cameron Carter, 24, of Kenai; nurse John Stumpff, 47, of Sterling; and patient Gaye McDowell, 60, of Cordova. Providence Medical Center operates the LifeGuard Program. LifeGuard aircraft is operated by Evergreen Helicopters of Alaska. The
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