DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. -- Dinwiddie County Airport executive director Jeremy Pultz took to the air to help find a missing 101-year-old woman and her 80-year-old passenger who were believed to be lost. While 101-year-old Dorothy Sue Wallace was found deceased in her mini van, Pultz's deed helped first responders rescue Wallace's passenger who was also in the van.
Pultz flew the 1948 L-16-B over remote parts of the county Saturday in search for the van which disappeared on Thursday.
"[The sheriff's office] asked me if I could maybe take my plane up and just do a brief search of the area of Route 40 in between Blackstone and McKenny," Pultz told CBS 6 in an exclusive interview.
He said he took a common sense approach to the search.
"If the deputies are searching the main roads and people haven’t called in a van sitting in their driveway, obviously the vehicle is going to be off the road somewhere, a great distance," he said.
Pultz said his slow-moving plane, which flies at about 45 miles per hour, was perfect for the mission.
"That gives you a lot more time to look down and be able to observe the area that you’re searching or look for what ever you are looking for," he said.
Pultz, who has worked in both fire and rescue and law enforcement thought the women would be in the van well off the beaten path.
Watch: Family hold press conference to help find missing 101-year-old woman
He was correct and located the van after about an hour in the air.
"I found them in the back of a big, look like a soybean field," Pultz said. "I wish we could have found them earlier, due to a loss of life. That weighs heavy on me."
"I think it was a very selfless thing that he did,"Dinwiddie Sheriff's Major William Knott said. "I do not think we would have found her anywhere as near as soon as what we did without the assistance from he and his plane."
Passenger Annie Mae Berger, who again was found alive, was taken to the hospital for treatment and observation.
No foul play was suspected in Wallace's death, according to the sheriff's office.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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