LAX83FA211

Before flying, the plt told the FBO that he would stay in the local Redlands/riverside, CA area. However, after taking off, he flew to las vegas, NV. He departed las vegas at 1636 PDT. When he did not return to Redlands, a search was initiated. The wreckage of the acft was found about 8 mi north of Redlands in mountainous terrain where the plane had crashed at an elevation of about 5300 ft. impact occurred at the base of a cliff in a canyon area. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was found. Radar info indicated the acft was flying at a slow speed just prior to the accident. The impact site was located about 2 mi north of the last recorded radar position. A wx study showed that the bases of the clouds in that area was about 4000 ft MSL & the cloud tops were near 5000 ft. flt visibility in clouds was zero mi & moderate turbulence was probable below 10,000 ft MSL.