The pilot of the Piper plane was found dead at the crash site in San Mariano, Isabela, but the lone passenger was missing, according to the latest update from the Isabela Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) on Thursday, Dec. 7.

In a message received by RH Sherwin Alfaro, Isabela PDRRMO head Watu Foronda said the rescue team reached the crash site at 11 AM.

“Sadly, the pilot was found lifeless,” he said.

Rescuers, however, did not find the lone female passenger in the vicinity.

“[S]he appears to have survived the crash as indicated by a makeshift shelter that she presumably put up near the wreckage,” Foranda added.

According to the PDRRMO head, the remains of the pilot will be fetched on Friday, Dec. 8, if the weather permits.

He said the cadaver would be carried through helicopter and be flown to TOG2 in Cauayan City, Isabela.

"Teams of K9 trackers are now being fetched from their locations to be brought to TOG2. They will be flown and dropped near the wreckage. Starting at the site of the wreckage, the K9 trackers will then follow the path that the passenger took through the scent that she left on the vegetation that she passed by," Foranda said.

The Piper plane with a tail number PA-32-300 went missing on Nov. 30 after taking off at Cauayan Airport.

The Philippine Air Force found the wreckage of the Piper Plane on Tuesday, Dec. 5, during an air operation.