The Third Baptist Church in San Francisco hosted a special vigil Sunday for a member of its congregation who's been missing for several days.
Justin Winfrey and his friend Kayla Rodriguez were supposed to be flying back to the Bay Area from Mendocino County several days ago, but they never made it.
A search has since been organized to try to find the pair.
Rodriguez's father said by phone he and several others were out searching Sunday as they have been for several days.
People came together to pray and comfort each other at Sunday evening's vigil. For many, it was a somber event because it's been nearly a week and a half since friends Winfrey and Rodriguez had been seen.
The pair took off from an airport near Willits in Mendocino County aboard Winfrey's red single-engine plane. The plane disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff.
Friends and family were able to charter a helicopter to search along the Mendocino County coast over the weekend.
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Many at the vigil were still holding on to the possibility they will soon be found.
"Praying that wherever he is, wherever they are, they're not suffering, that God is holding them in his hands," said Carol Ogilvie, Winfrey's godmother.
Sheila Brown, who works with Rodriguez, added: "Everyone is still looking and hoping that we find Kayla and Justin. Even a lot of our co-workers are out looking as well."
Brown and Rodriguez are nurses at California Pacific Medical Center's Mission-Bernal campus.
Winfrey recently got his pilot license and often takes friends on adventures with him.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and the San Francisco Police Department have investigators assigned to the ongoing search.
Anyone who has seen the pair or any sign of the aircraft should contact authorities with information.
