On May 5, 1953, the Beechcraft Bonanza N8449A crashed in Mammoth Lakes, California. The plane’s pilot and passenger were returning to Fresno after completing a fishing trip at Lake Crowley. They took off from the Mammoth Airport and attempted to fly over the Sierras in a blinding snowstorm. The plane failed to arrive at it’s destination. When the Bonanza was found the next morning, it’s airspeed indicator was pegged at 180 miles per hour, showing that the plane probably impacted the snow covered mountain in a steep dive. During the search for the missing Bonanza, a SA-16 Albatross from the 41st Air Rescue Squadron, Hamilton Field went missing. It’s five man crew was found the next day in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park after parachuting to safety when the SA-16 suffered an engine failure.
(Click on photos for a larger view.)

View of the area the Bonanza went down. The ridge behind the trees is called Dragons Back and is part of Mammoth Mountain. This photo was taken from the Horseshoe Lake parking lot.

The Mammoth area has a lot of volcanic activity. Some of the trees around Horseshoe Lake were killed off by CO2 gas seeping up from the ground. This sign is warning about the CO2 danger in the area. CO2 is heavier than air, so it can build up when there's no wind.

Some of the dead trees in the area as I start the hike.

Hiking through the dead trees.

Sign on a tree warning of the danger. Guess that the snow must allow the CO2 to build up in the area.

Looking back at Horseshoe Lake as I hike up the slope.

This section of the hike was kind of steep but I only had to gain about 400 feet of attitude before reaching the flat area that I'll be searching.

After searching the area for about an hour, I spotted some aluminum through the trees.

Zoomed in from where I first spotted the wreckage.