Denali National Park and Preserve is 6 million acres large. It is larger than the State of Massachusetts
Talkeetna is located on the edge of the Park and is a popular starting spot for climbers of the nearby peaks.
"Near Talkeetna" (at least for Alaskans) narrows things down just a bit.
The crash site itself is actually SE of Cantwell - a place smaller than Talkeetna.
The search area was initially the size of Connecticut, between Talkeetna and Cantwell. The aircraft apparently did not go down inside the boundaries of Denali National Park and park officials at Talkeetna Ranger Station were not involved with the search efforts.
I have humped ruck out there - this is some nasty ass terrain, no roads, few trails and lots of forest. That the AANG search crews found the aircraft (no ELT/deacon) so soon is a testament to their professional search 'cred'.
The most likely cause of this loss (ruling out UFOs, Chinese missiles and all the other crap out there) is simple human frailty. The pilot may have over-G'd and lost conciseness. A board of pros will sort it out and report.
The board finding will not be out anytime soon. The last (prior) F-22 crash (Mar 2009, Edwards AFB) is still being sorted out.
Just a thought - we don't know who will read these threads - they come up in search engine results... Please, have some pity on the family before you post any of the more **exotic** theories floating around in the giant toilet bowl of the 'Net - OK?
Thanks
Just re-read my post - just to be clear - not harshing on Silverback - am agreeing with SB.