Missing Squaw Valley Ski Resort Snowboarder Found Dead, Sheriff's Office Says
OLYMPIC VALLEY (CBS13) - Authorities say a snowboarder reported missing Thursday night has been found dead.
The guest, identified by the Placer County Sheriff's Office as 42-year-old Rocklin resident Wenyu Zhang, was reported missing around 9 p.m. Squaw Valley officials say Zhang last scanned a late-season season pass at the base of the Squaw Creek chair.
#cbs13stormwatch MISSING SKIER at Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Ski operations halted during search. @PlacerSheriff on site. Skier reported missing at 9pm thurs.
— stevelarge (@largesteven) March 2, 2018
A Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue crew was out immediately once Zhang was reported missing. The crew searched overnight, but had to stop due to a high avalanche risk in the area.
Zhang went missing as a storm rolled through the Sierra, dumping nearly 3 feet of snow in 24 hours.
Teams were back out Friday morning and are continuing to search for the Zhang.
#cbs13stormcoverage UPDATE missing snowboarder found INBOUNDS on Squaw Valley Resort. Found by probing equipment with 4-5 FEET of fresh powder over him. No Blunt Trauma.
— stevelarge (@largesteven) March 2, 2018
Early Friday afternoon, the Placer Sheriff announced that Zhang had been found dead. Authorities say they were able to narrow the search area using a tracker program at the resort.
Ski operations at Squaw Valley are on hold due to the search. Guests are instead being directed to ski at Alpine Meadows for the time being.