Five Boys Missing In Storm Blizzard Conditions Cut Off Search For Teens At Schweitzer

Bonner County officials searched late into the night for five teenage boys who were reported missing in blizzard conditions at Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort on Saturday.

The boys are believed to be in two groups. Three are members of the First Church of the Open Bible in Spokane.

The boys’ parents have been notified, but authorities did not release the boys’ names.

Brad Goeman, the youth pastor accompanying the church group, had a message for family, friends and supporters.

“Just ask people to be praying,” he said.

The father of one of the boys was at the ski lodge. His eyes bloodshot, the man paced in the ski patrol office throughout the night.

The boys were reported missing in the afternoon. Schweitzer Ski Patrol searched for the boys but called off the hunt for the night because of heavy snowfall and wind gusts up to 50 mph, Bonner County sheriff’s Cpl. Bob Howard said.

The wind - combined with 18 inches of new snow that fell Saturday - created extreme avalanche danger, he said.

Use of snowmobiles was ruled out because drifting snow couldn’t support such heavy machines.

The ground search was expected to resume in the morning, weather permitting, he said.

A helicopter with infrared equipment to detect heat sources may join the search today, he said.

The helicopter, if called, would fly from Fairchild Air Force Base, about 70 miles southwest of the ski hill.

The boys were dressed in ski clothes, Howard said. Officials did not know whether the boys had been carrying any food or emergency gear.

All day, the snow was wet and heavy.

After returning from skiing for the day, Andy Roscoe of Scotland said he was still drying out after three hours in the lodge.

Conditions on the mountain were “extremely dangerous.” There were several “miniavalanches” on Saturday, according to an emergency medical technician.

Schweitzer Ski Patrol, Bonner County Search and Rescue and the Bonner County Sheriff’s Department participated in the search.

Earlier in the week, there was a report of a lost skier at Schweitzer. He returned to the lodge at 2 in the morning, according to Schweitzer officials.

One or two skiers a year typically get lost at area ski resorts and are rescued without incident.

In November 1994, an adult and two children survived a frigid night after skiing out of bounds at Silver Mountain Ski Resort in Kellogg. That same week, a man skied out of bounds at Schweitzer and had to spend the night in a snow tunnel before being rescued.

Ski patrol volunteers urged skiers not to go out of bounds, no matter how tempting the untracked snow may seem.

If skiers do get lost, they should try to retrace their tracks back to safety. If they can’t, they should stay put until rescue workers find them.

Lost skiers can build a snow cave to keep warm. They should break holes in the ceiling for ventilation and place a piece of bright clothing outside the cave so rescuers can find them.