Frantic Hunt For Lost Americans In Panama

Rescue workers and volunteers combed a mountainous area of western Panama Tuesday in search of three Americans and a Panamanian pilot whose small plane went missing over the weekend.

But dense tropical foliage, mountainous terrain and heavy rains were making air and land searches in the Chiriqui province extremely difficult, said Roberto Rolando Rodriguez, a spokesman for the agency that overseas the nation's air security.

Michael Klein, a 37-year-old hedge fund manager, was on vacation with his daughter Talia, 13, and her friend Francesca Lewis, 12, at an eco-resort he owns in the Central American nation, said ex-wife Kim Klein in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from Boquete. The three had been scheduled to return to Santa Barbara, California, on Monday, she said.

The group's plane disappeared after taking off Sunday morning from Islas Secas off Panama's Pacific coast, heading for the Chiriqui volcano, about 285 miles west of the capital.

The flight normally would have taken about 45 minutes, but controllers lost contact with the craft at about noon on Sunday.

Rain and fog hampered the search for the missing plane on Monday, and the U.S. Embassy in Panama was closed for the holidays, making it difficult for Kim Klein and others to get help.

Panama's Civil Protection department said searchers flew over the area twice Tuesday morning without any luck.

"The weather is closing the area off completely," Director Armando Palacios said in a radio interview.

Klein said she is offering $25,000 to anyone who can locate the aircraft.

"We really need anyone we can find to give us some ground help, any assistance to find them," Klein said.

Justin Campbell, Talia Klein's uncle, said the family was offering to charter planes and helicopters, especially ones with infrared scanners, to help with the search.

"There are simply not enough available there now, and time is critical," Campbell said in a statement.

Michael Klein is the chief executive officer of Pacificore LLC, a Santa Barbara-based company that manages several hedge funds and founded two companies in the 1990s before becoming president and CEO of eGroups Inc., which was the world's largest group e-mail communication service.

Yahoo Inc. purchased eGroups for $450 million in August 2000 and it is now known as Yahoo Groups.