There was a site set up on Google Earth set up with current satellite pictures. People were asked to search for a plane in the mountains. I’m not sure Mammoth was in the search area. Surprising that this stuff wasn’t found earlier since Mammoth is really popular
No, Mammoth Lakes was not in the original search area, it was just outside it.
The actual area where the items were found is called Reds Meadow which is west of Mammoth Lakes and in a pretty remote area.
This thread has several pics of the area.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095342/posts