MASONVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Five members of a Georgia family visiting Cooperstown, New York, for a baseball tournament were killed when their small plane crashed in a rural wooded area, authorities said Monday.

The single-engine Piper PA-46 crashed around 2 p.m. on Sunday after taking off from a regional airport in Oneonta, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

The wreckage of the plane and the remains of the five people on board were found Sunday evening in the town of Masonville, New York State Police said in a news release. Drones, all-terrain vehicles and helicopters were deployed to search for the remote crash site, which is about 200 kilometers northwest of New York City.

The victims were identified as Roger Beggs, 76; Laura Van Epps, 42; Ryan Van Epps, 42; James Van Epps, 12; and Harrison Van Epps, 10.

The family returned to Georgia after watching the 12-year-old boy's baseball team play in a tournament in Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“It's just a tremendous tragedy for our family and the end of five great lives, especially young lives,” Jim Van Epps said of the loss of his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

Jim Van Epps told the Associated Press that his grandchildren, who lived in the Atlanta suburb of Milton, excelled in school and sports and that 10-year-old Harrison was an aspiring lacrosse player.

“Ryan and Laura supported their boys in everything they wanted to do,” he said.

Online records show Beggs had a pilot's license. Jim Van Epps said Laura Van Epps' father volunteered to fly the family to upstate New York to watch the tournament with them.

The plane was en route to Atlanta's Cobb County International Airport and was making a refueling stop in West Virginia when it crashed, state police said.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said on social media platform X that he and his family were praying for the victims' families and expressed “our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved them.”

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the family's last name to “Van Epps,” not “VanEpps.” Also, Laura Van Epps' age has been corrected to 42, not 43 as originally stated by police.