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| Marty and Kimberly Gutzler in a photo posted to a social media site while they were in Key West. |
been identified as 49-year-old Marty Gutzler; 45-year-old Kimberly Gutzler; their daughter, 9-year-old Piper Gutzler; and her cousin, 14-year-old Sierra Wilder. All four were from Nashville, Ill.
It appears, based on social media postings, that the family had been vacationing in Key West over the New Year's holiday and were returning to southern Illinois where they owned a furniture store.
According to NBC news reports, the little girl who survived had walked three-quarters of a mile through the dense woods to a nearby home. A man at the house interviewed by NBC said the seven-year-old told him her mom and dad had died in the crash. She was wearing just one sock and nothing on the other foot, he told NBC.
UPDATE According to state police four are dead in plane crash. Appears to be a single family with a babysitter, according to WPSD. The wreckage was found in a heavily wooded area near Suwanee.
ORIGINAL POST: A small airplane has crashed in the Suwanee area not too far from Buzzard Rock Resort in Lyon County.
Although details remain sketchy, reports are that a seven-year-old girl who survived the crash walked to a nearby home seeking help. Reports from citizens near the crash site say that three or four others were in the plane. No word yet on their fate.
The plane was reportedly en route to Illinois from Florida.
Buckberry Road near Chestnut Oak Methodist Church has been blocked off by authorities.
According to Flight Aware, visibility was five miles and the cloud ceiling was 500 feet at the time authorities were notified of the crash, around 6:30 p.m. A distress call was made from the plane at 5:55 p.m.
The young girl has been taken to a nearby hospital.
