Search efforts continued Thursday for the two-person crew of a Navy fighter jet that crashed near Washington's Mount Rainier earlier this week, officials said.

Today, the US Navy announced the first Boeing EA-18G Growler aircrew loss due to an incident on a low-level flight route near Washington State’s Mount Rainier. The cause of the Growler aircrew loss is under investigation, as the priorities turn to supporting the next of kin and recovering the lost personnel and their EA-18G Growler.

Two missing US Navy aviators have been declared dead, several days after their aircraft crashed near Mount Rainier, Washington, during a training flight, the Navy said Sunday.

The status of the Growler's 2-man crew was unknown Thursday night as Green Berets attempted to reach the crash site.

The U.S. Navy announced Sunday the two missing crewmembers on the U.S. Navy jet out of Whidbey Island that crashed last week have died.

The search for the two Navy pilots was ongoing Saturday, even after rescuers reached the EA-18G Growler wreckage, a Navy spokesman said.

Personnel on site are methodically searching an expansive area, evaluating debris and searching for information in the snow-covered, wilderness environment,” a press release from the Navy said. “Finding the aircrew continues to be our primary focus.

The methodical search for two missing aviators involves Army Special Forces from Joint Base Lewis McChord and is taking place in steep, snow-covered wilderness.