Colorado snowboarders rescued at Heavenly

Five Colorado snowboarders were rescued Saturday two hours after they became lost in severe weather conditions out-of-bounds at Heavenly Valley Ski Resort.

Sgt. Jim Halsey said one of the five called Douglas County Emergency Dispatch Center at 5:15 p.m. on a cell phone to report he and his friends were lost.

Because of the approaching nightfall and the weather, the call was ranked extreme high priority for Douglas County Sheriff's Search and Rescue who responded with 21 volunteers to search the mountainside.

Using global positioning system triangulation of the caller's cell phone, rescuers were able to identify the general area where the subjects were lost.

Search and rescue deployed two snowshoe teams, four snowmobile search teams and a Sno-Cat-tracked rescue vehicle. After a two-hour search, one of the snowshoe teams found the snowboarders.

They were guided across a stream and up a steep hill to a nearby roadway where the Sno-Cat vehicle picked them up.

They were identified as Jonathan Edmonds, Justin Hubler, Byron Paschell, Aaron Williams and Kerry Crunkleton, all of Denver, Colo., and ranging in age from 23-27.

DETAILS

Douglas County Search and Rescue Team does not charge recipients for the cost of rescue efforts. DCSAR is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization. Members are on call 24 hours a day, year-round, and frequently perform their tasks in harsh weather during late night and early morning hours. The unit depends on donations for funding and equipment. Financial donations may be mailed to DCSAR at: P.O. Box 1306, Minden, NV 89423. For equipment donations, contact DCSAR at (775) 782-9930. Donations are tax deductible.

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Douglas County Search and Rescue

www.douglassar.org