Kapuskasing couple on chopper flight missing since Monday (10:40 a.m. update)

10:40 a.m. OPP update:

KAPUSKASING - On March 6, 2019 at approximately 9 a.m., members of the James Bay Detachments of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to an incident where a female and a male from the Town of Kapuskasing, Ont. were reported missing.

Police information revealed that Nicole Blais, 47-years-old and Jody Blais, 49-years-old, both from Kapuskasing, Ont., failed to return via helicopter to a hanger in Fauquier, Ont. as scheduled. They were last seen leaving Sudbury, Ont. at 6:45 p.m. on March 4, 2019.

The OPP have engaged with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC).

Members of the James Bay Detachments are continuing with the missing person's investigation with the assistance of the OPP Emergency Response Team (ERT).

Anyone with information that could assist with this investigation please contact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1-888-310-1122.

Original information:

A Kapuskasing couple have gone missing on a helicopter somewhere between Timmins and Kapuskasing.

Jody and Nicole Blais operate a company that gives helicopter tours called Helico Blais. Police have not issued a release on the situation yet, but posts shared to Facebook by friends and family members say the couple were flying between Sudbury and Timmins on Monday. They haven't been seen since March 4.

Search and rescue have been flying over the area in hopes of spotting the craft. 

It is unknown if the helicopter crashed or had to make an emergency landing. 

According to a Facebook post by Gilbert Mondoux, a Kapuskasing man who is helping co-ordinate search and rescue efforts alongside the family, it is suspected the couple made a soft landing, not a crash landing, in a remote location and just need to be found. 

In posts on Jody Blais' Facebook page, it is clear he is the pilot of the couple's helicopter while his wife serves as his flight assistant.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

- Sudbury.com