Search Expanding for Farmington Pilot

WADENA, Minn. - Air and ground searches continued Tuesday for Andrew Lindberg, a pilot from Farmington who was reported missing after he never arrived to hunt with his father in northwestern Minnesota.

Lindberg was the only person aboard the PA-28 Piper Cherokee that took off from the Airlake Airport near Lakeville on Friday. He was planning to go to hunting in Hallock, Minn. but never arrived.

Major Al Pabon said the Civil Air Patrol is slightly expanding its search grid beyond the 4,000 square miles already covered. Pabon says 10 airplanes and five ground crews searched an area between St. Cloud and Fosston Tuesday.

Air and ground search teams searched Monday between Wadena and Hallock and continued their search at first light Tuesday morning. The search is expanding and is covering several central Minnesota counties, including Becker, Mahnomen, Red Lake, Marshall, Hubbard, Polk, Pennington, Todd and Wadena.

Pabon says ground searchers are finding obstacles in the terrain, including marshland and forests.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact their local county sheriff's office. The plane is a white PA-28 Piper Cherokee with yellow stripes and black highlights.