Pilot of plane that crashed on Goldwater bombing range identified

The body of the pilot whose plane crashed on the on the Barry M. Goldwater Bombing Range last month has been identified as 49-year-old Denise Jeanette McCracken of Tucson.

The wreckage of her single-engine passenger plane was found Nov. 24 just west of the Mohawk Mountains, about 10 to 15 miles south of Interstate 8, by a Yuma Sector Border Patrol agent on routine patrol.

McCracken had been reported missing by her husband after she took off in a Piper Cherokee from a Tucson-area airport the day before the wreckage was found.

The plane's wreckage was found on the southeastern section of the range, about 50 miles southeast of Yuma, on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Officials with the Yuma County Sheriff's Office say they don't believe McCracken was involved in any type of illegal smuggling activity.

The plane has been taken to Phoenix, and it may take six months to a year to determine the cause of the crash, officials said.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.