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The Uvalde County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that its dispatch center received a call about midnight Sunday from an aviation monitoring center reporting a possible down aircraft and that the wreckage of the helicopter was located near Chalk Bluff Park in Uvalde.

The pilot was Gerald Green Lawrence, 76, Uvalde County Justice of the Peace Judge Steven Kennedy told ABC News.

Lawrence was a captain in the Army who served during the Vietnam war, his step-daughter, Amilyn Willard, told ABC News affiliate KTRK-TV.

Hatch described Lawrence as a \"highly qualified pilot.\"

\"PHOTO:
KTRK
PHOTO: A couple who were just married were killed, Nov. 3, 2018, when their helicopter went down in Uvalde, Texas.
>

Both seniors at Sam Houston State University, Byler was majoring in agriculture engineering while Ackerman's major was agriculture communications.

\"These two individuals made a huge impact and will always be remembered by their kind hearts and uplifting spirits. Will and Bailee spent their last moments on Earth surrounded by family and friends in what can easily be said was the best moments of their life,\" David Eller, the school's student body president, said in a statement.

Byler was a member of the SHSU Rodeo Team and served on various students organizations, Eller said.

\"Will and Bailee exemplified the university motto, 'The Measure of a Life is it's Service,'\" Eller said.

NTSB investigating crash Sunday of a Bell 206B in Uvalde, TX.

— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) November 4, 2018

Wedding guests posted videos online of the doomed helicopter appearing to take off safely from the Byler ranch as friends and family cheered. Other videos showed Ackerman, wearing her white wedding gown, dancing with her nine bridesmaids and showering Byler with kisses as he was seated in a chair at their wedding reception Saturday night.

The months of wedding planning had seemed to pay off for Ackerman and Byler.

\"Last night was magical in every way,\" a wedding guest wrote on Instagram Sunday. \"Absolutely perfect. Bailee & Will - I hope I find a love as true & wonderful as yours. I have peace in the fact that you left this earth so full of happiness and love. How awesome to spend your honeymoon with Jesus.\"

As she and Byler were putting the final touches on their wedding plans, Ackerman wrote in a Sept. 24 Facebook post, \"This whole 'bride' experience has been more than I have ever dreamed of and we still have so much left to do. Thank you ALL for the memories. I am a lucky lady.\"

ABC News' Christine Theodorou and Matt German contributed to this report

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