MILWAUKEE —
Law enforcement identified the six people, including two father-son pairs, who
were killed in a plane crash shortly after a discussion about "weather
phenomenon" in northern Wisconsin early Saturday.
The Price
County (Wis.) Sheriff’s Office released the following names Monday:
Kevin James
King, 70, of Bensenville, Ill.; James Francis, 63, of Norco, Calif.; Kyle
Demauro, 21, of Bensenville, Ill.; Thomas Demauro, 56, of Bensenville, Ill.;
Charles Tomlitz, 69, of Addison, Ill.; George Tomlitz, 45, of Brookfield, Ill.
Family and
friends confirmed on social media the father-son relationship of the Demauros
and the Tomlitzes.
National
Transportation Safety Board spokesman Eric Weiss said the plane's debris field
might suggest an in-flight break up, but he stressed that the cause of the
crash still isn't clear.
"This
is just the beginning of the investigation," he said. "We have not
ruled anything in or out."
The Cessna
airplane crashed at 3:21 a.m. Saturday near the northern Wisconsin city of Phillips.
The plane was found near state Highway 111 and U.S. Highway 8 in the Town of
Harmony.
The Cessna
421 left from the Chicago area and was heading to Canada on a fishing trip, the
Sheriff's Office said.
National
Transportation Safety Board investigators said there was a discussion between
the pilot and air traffic controllers about “local weather phenomenon.” Soon
after, the aircraft dropped off radar. The NTSB, the Federal Aviation
Administration and the Price County Sheriff's Office are investigating the
crash.
Tioga
Elementary School in Bensenville, Ill., a community just southwest of O'Hare
International Airport, announced the death of physical education teacher Thomas
DeMauro and a maintenance director for the district, Charles "Chuck"
Tomlitz, on Saturday.
"Mr.
DeMauro and Mr. Tomlitz will be missed by all the Tioga Community," the
school's co-principals wrote in a Facebook post.
As of
Tuesday, nearly 300 people shared the post and more than 100 left comments.
Parents and former students mourned the loss of the two men. Many remembered
the two for their kindness and friendliness. Others wrote about the positive
impact the men had on their children's lives.
On Monday,
community members created a Facebook page, "Tioga remembers Mr DeMauro and
Chuck Tomlitz," to share stories and discuss memorials for the men.
Another
passenger was identified as DeMauro's son, Kyle, in a GoFundMe page created on
Sunday for the family.
Chuck
Tomlitz' son, George, also died in the crash, according to a Facebook post from
Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge in Northwest Territories, Canada. Chuck Tomlitz had
taken several trips to the lodge.
"Chuck
always had a smile and fishing stories to tell," the post read.
Nina Trader,
a former student of Thomas DeMauro, said he had a profound impact on countless
students. Some of her friends from high school have children who recently had
DeMauro as a teacher.
“He was one
of those teachers who was really engaged with his students, and he really
wanted his students to succeed," she said.
Trader, 35,
said DeMauro's care and his interest in his students always felt genuine. She
said she remembers DeMauro and his wife showing off newborn Kyle at school and
said she always enjoyed running into the family around the Bensenville area.
"I
don't know anybody who didn't love Mr. DeMauro," she said. "He was so
beloved."
Follow Haley
Hansen on Twitter: @HaleHansen
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