UPDATE: Lakeville Man Dies in Plane Crash Near Zumbrota

A Lakeville man is dead after his ultra-light airplane crashed near Zumbrota on Saturday afternoon.

The Goodhue County Sheriff's Office said Mark E. Ellis, 58, of Lakeville, crashed shortly before takoff from the Wanamingo airstrip on the evening of Friday, July 8. Wanamingo is south of Lakeville, near the town of Zumbrota.

According to a report in the Rochester Post Bulletin, Ellis left from an airstrip in Farmington at around 1 p.m. Friday with another ultra-light aircraft, and they two aircraft landed at the airstrip near Wanamingo between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., says a release from the sheriff's office.

The press release says the two pilots later left the Wanamingo airstrip about 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. The lead aircraft diverted to a Northfield landing strip to avoid rain clouds and thought Ellis had followed him, according to the release. When the other pilot landed, he discovered Ellis had not followed him and was unable to contact Ellis by cell phone.

At 3:58 a.m. Saturday, the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office was contacted by the Lakeville Police Department to help find Ellis, according to the report. A ping of the pilot's cell phone indicated a location in Cherry Grove Township in Goodhue County.

Deputies and Wanamingo first responders searched the area southeast of the airstrip where the pilot had taken off. They found the crash site at about 5:40 a.m., and the pilot was deceased.

The Federal Aviation Administration is handling the investigation. A Goodhue County dispatcher said at 10 p.m. Saturday that the FAA hadn't updated them on the incident since the morning, the report said.