Missing Snowboarder - Sierra at Tahoe

West slope EDSAR was called out last night to assist in this search on the morning of 3-27-11. Unfortunately the outcome was not good, per the EDSO release:

Search and Rescue Volunteers Located Missing Subject

Department:

Sheriff

Bryan Golmitz

Contact:

Date:

March 27, 2011

Phone#:

March 26 at 5:00 pm,

El Dorado County Sheriff Search and Rescue is currently working an active search at Sierra at Tahoe Resort. Searchers are looking for a snowboarder who went missing while in the area of Upper Powderhorn Trail in the West Bowl area of the resort. The snowboarder has been identified as Phillip Walker, 22 years, resident of San Jose, CA. Phillip was snowboarding with his brother and friends when he went missing. Phillip is considered an intermediate snowboarder and was dressed appropriately for the conditions, however he was not prepared to overnight in the area. Due to harsh weather conditions searching was scaled back during the nigh-time hours.

March 27 at 5:00 am,

The search for the missing snowboarder continues. Due to the size of the area, terrain and hazardous weather the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office requested mutual aid to assist in the search. Currently there are approximately 60 searchers in the area. The search teams are using shoe shoes, skis, snowmobiles and a snow cat (tracked vehicle) to aid in the search.

March 27, 11:50 am, Search and Rescue volunteers located the missing subject. The subject was found deceased in a tree well (a depression next to a tree, created by the snow) and he was covered in several inches snow. The initial investigation suggests Phillip impacted the tree, however it has not been determined if the impact or the winter weather caused his death.

The family of Phillip Walker has been notified of the tragic event. The Sheriff's Office extends it deepest condolences to the family.

Nevada County Mutual Aid - Missing 18 yr old

Truckee man, 18, found dead Tuesday near Glenshire

Body found in open wooded area

March, 15 2011
By Jason Shueh
Sierra Sun

UPDATE: 3:53 p.m. Tuesday

TRUCKEE, Calif. — An 18-year-old Truckee man known by many in the region as an avid and talented freeskier was found dead Tuesday morning not far from his Glenshire home, officials said.

A Truckee resident found the dead body of Andre Simonpietri at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, in an open wooded area in Glenshire, said Truckee Police Capt. Harwood Mitchell in a Tuesday afternoon phone interview.

“No foul play is suspected in the death,” Mitchell said.

According to a missing persons report sent to regional media earlier Tuesday, Simonpietri was last seen walking the family dog in a Glenshire neighborhood at about 11 a.m. Sunday, March 13.

Police reported the dog was found later that day wandering the woods east of Glenshire, and it was returned to family.

On Monday, the Nevada County Search and Rescue Team began looking for Simonpietri, according to the report, and it restarted its search Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Simonpietri was a competitive freeskier who had experienced success in Junior Olympic halfpipe and slopestyle contests at a young age, among other national competitions.

In 2008 and 2009, he was one of several hand-selected skiers chosen by Roy Tuscany of the High Fives Non-Profit Foundation to participate in the annual Trains Slopestyle Contest at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort.

“He possessed the ability to ski at a level way past his age,” Tuscany said of Simonpietri. “The talent he had on a pair of skis was something that isn't given to everybody. It was so natural to him. And his ability to strive within that natural talent was mind-blowing.”

Tuscany said Simonpietri will be missed both locally and by the ski community as a whole.

“In the ski world he was really blossoming into something. This is a big hit for the Tahoe community, and also for the entire ski community,” Tuscany said.

Details on a memorial service were unknown as of Tuesday afternoon.

Fall Trail Search

The subject was a 48-year old female, with dementia, heart troubles,
and in generally poor health. She reportedly spent much of Wednesday
(March 2nd) looking for her car keys, which she had misplaced. She called
her daughter, saying she found her keys, and apparently intended to drive
somewhere. Her car veered off Fall Trail road, hitting a rock.

Around 2000 Wednesday, a neighbor in the area heard someone trip over some
piled wood in his yard. When he called out, a women responded, apologized,
and said she was looking for her kids. Nobody else in the area was out
looking for their kids, so it seems likely this was the subject.

The search began Thursday evening, after dark. Several canine and foot
teams searched the area in hasty mode. One canine team reported interest
near (or on?) the pedestrian bridge over highway 50. Another reported a
cadaver alert twice, on the northeast portion of the ridgeline (as it turns
out, this may have been an accurate clue). Another dog tracked a trail
back to the subject's house, which had already been searched. Other than
scents, no clues were found (I think?), and the search was postponed until
morning, so searchers had an opportunity to rest before daylight. Tracks,
from those carrying GPSes, were uploaded into TNP on Jamey's laptop.

In the morning, search efforts focused on the area along the bike trail
and the hillside up toward Fall Trail road. This was moderate to steep
terrain, with low brush and leaves. The ground was still moist, and
slippery in areas. Tracks from people, deer, goats, dogs, and eventually
other searchers were everywhere. As the gradient went from northeast to
the east, it became steeper and more heavily vegetated. Mine shafts and
natural hazards dotted the area. One of the canines picked up a cadaver
scent in a drainage on a steep slope east of the subject residence and
north of the vehicle. This was the subject.

Reaching the subject was difficult because of the terrain, and just below
the subject was a rocky drop-off. A group with chainsaws and garden
shears cleared a pathway while the subject was bagged and put into a
stokes litter. The cliff team set up a simple pull system to haul the
litter out of the drainage in three stages. Once onto slightly less steep
terrain, several people pulled a rope attached to the litter, providing
the force to move the litter uphill, while five others carried the litter,
essentially just keeping it off the ground. This system worked well. We
stopped several times to rest, and met the coroner at the top of the
ridge where R1 and R3 had parked.

Bernie ordered sandwiches for everyone. Teams uploaded tracks to TNP on
Jamie's laptop, as with the night before. The subject's location was also
marked. I think we had everything wrapped up and shut down by about 1500.

Tait