Missing snowboarders found
Herald and News
Klamath Falls, Oregon
November 16, 2004
By LEE JUILLERAT
CRATER LAKE - Three Klamath Falls snowboarders are safe and
uninjured after spending Sunday night and early Monday lost in
Crater Lake National Park's snowy backcountry.
Coty Huard, 14, Donald Lucero, 16, and Justin Silva, 12, were
found by searchers about 11 p.m. Sunday night after being
reported missing six hours earlier by Lucero's mother.
Early Monday morning the boys, accompanied by a trio of park
rangers, snowshoed out and were reunited with their parents.
"For them to have survived a night would have been a very
dangerous thing," said Chief Ranger David Brennan, noting the
trio did not have extra clothing or survival equipment and were
unfamiliar with the area. "It's a good feeling when you can have
a success story instead of a tragedy."
The three snowboarders were reported missing about 5 p.m., by
Lucero's mother, who had dropped them off that afternoon. The
three were boarding near the Dutton Creek trailhead, a
steep-sloped area adjacent to Rim Village popular with
snowboarders. Brennan said the boys planned to ride toward the
park headquarters area, but they descended the wrong drainage
and became lost.
After
traveling about two miles from their starting point and
attempting to follow a backcountry ski trail and creek drainage,
they stopped when it became dark. Expecting that searchers would
be looking for them, they grouped together in an open area.
Soon after receiving the missing persons report, a trio of park
rangers - Pete Reinhardt, Steve Thomas and Scott Girdner - began
the initial search. With the help of Lucero's mother, they were
able to determine where the boys were last seen. Traveling on
cross-country skis, the rangers quickly located and followed
snowboard tracks.
Brennan said the rangers eventually made voice contact with the
boys. After helping the missing boarders to warm up, the
searchers and boys snowshoed another two miles to a park road,
where they arrived about 2 a.m. Although they were cold and
tired, Brennan said the boys were happy to be reunited with
their parents.
Along with the trio of rangers on skis, the park also mobilized
about 30 others, including search and support personnel from the
National Park Service, Crater Lake Ski Patrol, Klamath County
Search and Rescue and Chiloquin Volunteer Ambulance Service.
Plans were in place to launch extensive search efforts at
first-light Monday, including a helicopter search, but those was
canceled after the boys were found.
"We are extremely grateful that the three boys are alive and
well," Brennan said. "The fact that they stayed together and
stopped traveling as darkness fell contributed to a successful
outcome. The search was a great example of interagency
cooperation."
Brennan said the incident points out the need for winter
backcountry travelers to "learn and follow basic safety and
survival guidelines. These include letting friends or family
know where you will be traveling, and carrying the survival
essentials of extra clothing, food, water, flashlights, matches,
map and compass."
The boys had a cell phone, but there was no cell coverage in the
area.
"Cell phones can be a valuable safety tool, but we urge people
not to rely on them since coverage can be unpredictable in
remote areas and battery life is unpredictable," Brennan said
