The hunt for the missing pilot of an aircraft in Washington state 2 weeks ago has ended with "no traces."

AircraftPhoto byJonathan BorbaonUnsplash

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, Tacoma resident Rod Collen and his 2006 Cessna Turbo T182 Skylane vanished from radar on March 6 shortly after taking off from Tacoma Narrows Airport at 5:35 p.m. According to the agency, he has not been seen or heard from since.

Collen's daughter Audrey said on Facebook that her father "left behind his phone, work laptop, and flying luggage and did not inform anybody where he was going."

Our sympathies are with the family and all those who labored to attempt to find the aircraft, as this is not the conclusion searchers and the numerous partners had hoped for," WSDOT stated in a statement. The family has been advised of the situation and kept up to date on the search efforts.

It was about a 2.5-hour journey west of Seattle to the Queets and Lake Quinault area, where radar forensics experts believed the aircraft made a steep drop into the earth.

Search aircraft' flight tracks, which were made public by authorities, revealed they had flown over a significant chunk of the first search region. The state emergency operations center could be reached at 800-258-5990, and officials were still requesting the public's help in reporting any leads.

The plane's tail number is N24289, authorities stated. Collen's family organized their search volunteers despite the state's decision to end the official search.

Audrey Collen said on Facebook on March 13 that she hoped to see her boyfriend again soon so she could give him a big hug. Affectionately, I gushed, "I adore him so much. That's the most awesome dad ever.