North Dakota state senator Doug Larsen (R), his wife, and their two children died after the Piper plane they were flying in crashed in Utah Sunday evening (October 1).
According to a Grand County Sheriff's Department statement posted on Facebook, the plane crashed shortly after taking off from Canyonlands Airfield about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Moab.
All four were killed instantly, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board said the crash was being investigated.
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North Dakota Loses a State Senator
Larsen's death was confirmed in an email sent by the state's Republican Senate Majority Leader David Hogue which was obtained by the Associated Press Monday (October 2). He said the family were visiting their relatives in Scottsdale, Arizona, and were in Utah to refuel on their way home.
"I'm not sure where the bereavement starts with such a tragedy, but I think it starts with prayers for the grandparents, surviving stepchild of Senator Larsen, and extended family of Doug and Amy," he wrote. "Hold your family close today."
Larsen was a Republican who was first elected to the North Dakota Senate in 2020. His district comprises Mandan, the city neighboring Bismarck to the west across the Missouri River. Larsen chaired a Senate panel that handled industry and business legislation.
Aside from his legislative duties, he was also a lieutenant colonel for the North Dakota National Guard and owned a business alongside his wife.
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