THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 18, 1995 TAG: 9505180792
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: TAOS, N.M. LENGTH: Short : 27 lines
A Navy orientation flight from California to St. Louis vanished Wednesday in remote northern New Mexico with a rear admiral and a commander aboard.
The Navy identified the missing officers as Rear Adm. James G. Prout III, based in San Diego, and Cmdr. Joseph G. Kleefisch, based at Lemoore Naval Air Station, Calif., who was piloting the craft.
The search for the two-seat FA-18D Hornet was centered about 60 miles north of Santa Fe, near Taos, but was suspended after nightfall.
The plane was headed for a refueling stop in Colorado when it disappeared, said George Pearce, a spokesman at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.
The fighter-and-attack aircraft took off from Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego.
The search was to resume today.
KEYWORDS: NAVY MISSING PERSONS MISSING PLANE by CNB