DARE COUNTY, N.C. – The bodies of two Franklin County brothers have been recovered, three days after they died in a helicopter crash in the Albemarle Sound.

Emergency crews recovered the body of 35-year-old John Arant on Thursday. Shortly thereafter, they found the body of his brother, 36-year-old Alan Arant. Alan Arant was the pilot.

The discovery ends a two-day search. Just before 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew found helicopter debris in the water about 9 miles north of the Alligator River Bridge in the Albemarle Sound. That was less than an hour  after someone recovered a backpack with personal belongings about 3.5 miles south of the mouth of the Alligator River.

A friend of the two men in the Robinson R44 helicopter told the Coast Guard they had lost communication with the helicopter at 6:40 p.m. Monday.

The brothers had planned to land at the Dare County Regional Airport Monday night after taking off from Mecklenburg Brunswick Regional Airport.

The Coast Guard suspended the search Wednesday night after searching more than 3,000 miles.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.