Sheriff's office: Fatal plane crash west of U.S. 231 east of Otterbein

OTTERBEIN, Ind. — The Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office is investigating a crash of a small plane in a field in a rural area east of Otterbein.

Deputies discovered the plane's wreckage in a field west of U.S. 231 between County Roads 600 North and 750 North. The plane had not been seen since about 8 p.m. Thursday, but wasn't reported missing until about 3:30 p.m. Friday, Tippecanoe County sheriff's Chief Deputy Terry Ruley said.

Ruley said he's been told that the single-engine plane is a Purdue plane.

Tippecanoe County sheriff's Lt. Greg Frantz said one fatality in the crash has been confirmed, but no identity has been released. The investigation is ongoing.

Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello said, "We're working with the sheriff's department involving a plane crash and a death investigation."

Costello did not release any other information about the investigation.

Ruley and Frantz said they are waiting on National Transportation and Safety investigators to arrive at the scene. They have not arrived as of 6 p.m. Friday.

Deputies searching for the plane drove their sports utility vehicles into the muddy farm fields north of County Road 600 North and got stuck, requiring a farmer to tow them out of the mud.

This story will be updated as further information is available.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Tippecanoe County Sheriff investigating fatal plane crash