Missing helicopter found after search by Quebec provincial police, military

Quebecprovincial police have found the crash site of a helicopter that went missing inthe Laurentians, north of Montreal, but are not commenting on where it was found, or if thethe pilot has been found.

The pilot, a man in his50sfromRouyn-Noranda, Que., left that city around 10:30 a.m. ET Monday.

The helicopter was expected to arrive at Mirabel around 1 p.m., but never did.

The man's former flight instructor called police and NavCanada around 4:30 p.m. after he failed to show up at his destination.

Provincial policeSgt. Stphane Tremblay said the pilot was last heard from around noon, while flying over the Mont-Laurier area,about 325 kilometres away from Rouyn-Noranda, as the crow flies.

The pilot, whowas alone onthe helicopter,has about 100 hours of flying experience, Tremblay said.

His cellphone was traced to an area near Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard, 50 kilometres north of Mirabel.

That is where search efforts were centred. Police were on the ground in cars and all-terrain vehicles near Lac Saint-Joseph, a lake in Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard.

Helicopters belonging to theDepartment of National Defence and police have been involved in searchingthe area.

With files from Lauren McCallum