Five Boys Missing In Storm Ground Search To Resume Today For Teens At Schweitzer Resort

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

The boys, who were in two separate groups, may have become disoriented and skied out of bounds into deep snow, resort officials said.

Three were identified as members of the First Church of the Open Bible in Spokane. The other two are brothers visiting from Canada, a ski patrol official said.

Brad Goeman, the youth pastor accompanying the church group, urged family, friends and supporters not to give up hope for a rescue.

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

The names of the boys were not released, although authorities said all of the parents had been notified. One father, his eyes bloodshot, paced in the ski patrol office throughout the night.

Search and rescue workers battled 50 mph wind gusts and avalanche conditions as they combed the mountain for the boys, reportedly between 13 and 15 years old.

Most of the searchers were called back after nightfall due to treacherous conditions, Bonner County sheriff’s Cpl. Bob Howard said.

High winds, combined with the 18 inches of wet snow that fell at the ski resort Saturday, created extreme avalanche danger, he said. One ski patrol volunteer said several small avalanches had been reported during the day.

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

Howard said the full ground search would resume this morning, weather permitting.

A helicopter with infrared equipment to detect heat sources may join the search today, he said. The helicopter would fly in from Fairchild Air Force Base, about 70 miles southwest of the ski hill.

The missing boys were dressed in ski clothes, Howard said. Officials didn’t know whether they had been carrying any food or emergency gear.

The 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 a.m. the next day, officials said.

One or two skiers a year typically get lost at area ski resorts.

In November 1994, an adult and two children survived a frigid night after skiing out of bounds at Silver Mountain Ski Resort in Kellogg, Idaho. 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.

Changed from the Idaho edition