SHERIDAN, WY – A plane crash in the Bighorn National Forest on Monday, September 1, left one 13-year-old girl dead and three family members seriously injured, according to the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office.

The crash was reported around 4:57 PM near Big Mountain. Sheridan County Sheriff’s Deputies, Sheridan Area Search and Rescue (SASAR), and Wyoming Regional EMS (WREMS) responded to the scene. First Flight from Greybull, WY, confirmed evidence of the crash west of Big Mountain.

An Incident Command Post was established at the Steamboat Point parking lot. Rescue and medical teams were flown close to the crash site on the north end of the Walker Prairie Trail. At the scene, responders found a single-engine aircraft with four people: the deceased 13-year-old female and three other family members, including an 11-year-old boy, a 54-year-old man, and a 53-year-old woman.

Medical teams stabilized the injured before airlifting them from the crash site. The first patient was transported by First Flight to Sheridan Memorial Hospital. A Wyoming Army National Guard helicopter airlifted the other two patients, with one transferred to a St. Vincent Help Flight Helicopter at the Sheridan County Airport and flown to a Billings, Montana hospital. The third patient was airlifted directly to a hospital in Billings.

The 13-year-old’s body was recovered and transferred to the Sheridan County Coroner. The coroner has not yet released her name.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is en route to investigate the crash. Sheridan Area Search and Rescue, the Sheriff’s Office, and Bighorn National Forest personnel remain on site. Authorities are asking the public to stay clear of the area.

Sheridan County Sheriff Levi Dominguez praised the coordinated rescue effort. “This was, and still is, a very fluid scene. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ and their family,” he said.