Two officers are dead in the aftermath of a helicopter crash in Atlanta, AnneClaire Stapleton of CNN said.
The crash happened late Saturday as police were searching for a missing 9-year-old boy, Stapleton said.
Federal officials are investigating what caused the low-flying helicopter to descend into power lines, causing power outages in local neighborhoods and shopping plazas, according to a USAToday.com article.
The boy was found a few hours after the crash, the article said.
The two officers were identified Sunday afternoon as pilot Richard J. Halford, 48, of Lithia Springs, who had been with the department for 26 years, and Shawn A. Smiley, 40, of Lithonia, a tactical flight officer who joined the department two years ago, Greg Schreier of the AP said.
The families have asked for privacy, and trust funds have been set up at Wells Fargo bank locations to help them, said Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos.
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