Search Called Off For Missing Runner

Missoula authorities called off a formal search for a record-holding Spokane Valley runner who fell through ice covering an irrigation ditch there last weekend.

Ryan Cross, 21, is missing and presumed dead after slipping into the ditch on the University of Montana campus last Saturday.

“We’re now in standby mode,” said Gregg Willoughby, a Missoula police detective. “It’s very stressful on everyone involved.”

Searchers used a backhoe and front-end loader to break up the ice covering the trench but were unable to locate Cross, a student at the university, Willoughby said.

A memorial service for the long-distance runner and University High School graduate will be at 1 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Hazen & Jaeger Funeral Home, 1306 N. Pines.

, DataTimes