LOYALTON, Calif. (AP) — Authorities have discovered the wreckage of a small plane buried in snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Northern California and the bodies of a couple missing for more than a month inside it.

Sierra County sheriff's officials say a snowmobiler found a piece of the plane's tail near Yuba Pass.

Searchers last Thursday located the separated cockpit buried in in 6-7 feet (1.8-2.1 meters) of snow. Mark and Brenda Richard were inside.

The single engine plane departed April 17 from the Truckee-Tahoe Airport near the Nevada border.

Relatives reported the couple from Santa Rosa missing after the plane did not land as planned at the Petaluma Municipal Airport north of San Francisco.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat newspaper reported (http://bit.ly/2q8UKfk) Saturday that the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

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Information from: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemocrat.com