The body of a 61-year-old pliot and his missing plane were found Thursday at a crash site near Elizabethville, Ont., about 40 kilometres south of Peterborough.

The plane took off from St-Mathieu De Beloeil, Que., east of Montreal on Monday and was scheduled to arrive at the Buttonville Airport in Markham, Ont., north of Toronto, at 11 p.m. that night.

When it failed to arrive, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton, Ont., and the Ontario Provincial Police began a search involving a Hercules aircraft and two Griffon helicopters.

The pilot, whose name has not been released, was the lone occupant of the plane.

"The thoughts and hearts of all of us involved with the search mission are extended to the family and friends of the deceased pilot," said Captain Ken Millard, searchmaster for the mission.

The plane was a four-seater, single-engine Grumman AA5.