ST. IGNACE — Authorities have positively identified a couple whose remains were recovered from the wreckage of a small plane that crashed years ago in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

The Mackinac County Sheriff Scott Strait said Thursday the remains have been positively identified as those of missing couple Mark and Janet Davies.

The single-engine Piper PA-28 that 45-year-old Mark Davies was piloting took off Sept. 14, 1997, from Drummond Island in Lake Huron and was headed to Howell, about 300 miles to the south.

A four-day search at the time failed to find the remains of the couple or the plane.

The wreckage was discovered July 11 in the Hiawatha National Forest near St. Ignace.