SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Alta, population 400, awoke in mourning Tuesday, less than 24 hours after learning that a prominent couple heavily involved in the community had died in a plane crash in Arizona on Sunday night.
Joanne Shrontz, 55, a member of the Alta Town Council for more than eight years, and her husband, 57-year-old Duane Shrontz, a former ski instructor at the Alta Ski Area, were identified Monday night as the victims killed in a small plane crash near Scottsdale, Ariz., according to police spokesman Scott Reed.
The Shrontzes are survived by three children, Ellen, Erik and Mathieu, all grown.
"We already miss her. Everybody cared about her. It's terribly sad," said Alta Mayor Bill Levitt, adding that the councilwoman, known as Jody had been due to return Tuesday afternoon for a "Friends of Alta" meeting. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to preserving the pristine environment surrounding the small community. "We are totally devastated by the whole thing."
The couple had landed at Scottsdale Airport on Sunday evening after having taken off from San Diego earlier that day, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. After spending an hour at the Scottsdale airport, the couple had taken off for Santa Fe, N.M., when the plane crashed into a McDowell Mountains peak, Reed said.
Fire crews worked much of the day Monday to recover the bodies of the two victims.
Reed said the terrain at the crash site was so steep that Rural/Metro Fire Department crews had to rappel to the site to recover the bodies.
The plane, a Piper PA60 Aerostar, crashed into the southwest side of Thompson Peak on Sunday night, bursting into flames and sparking several small brush fires. The fires were quickly extinguished.
In addition to several entrepreneurial endeavors, Duane Shrontz also wrote "Alta, Utah: A People's Story," a look at the personalities that founded the ski area.
Those personalities include Joanne Shrontz's ancestors. She is a granddaughter of Joe Quinney, one of the founders of the Alta Ski Area and the namesake for the University of Utah College of Law. She was an active member of the five-person council and an ardent supporter of the arts as well as programs benefiting children, Levitt said. "I don't think there's hardly any committee she hasn't been committed to all over the state over all these years," he added. "She was a very civic person, very important to our community."
Funeral arrangements had not been made as of Tuesday morning, but the "Friends of Alta" committee members decided to meet during the afternoon. "We talked about it and decided that is what she would want us to do," Levitt said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
E-MAIL: nharrison@desnews.com