TNSAR Search 10/03/2005

Lost Skier at Squaw Valley

At about 6:30 pm on Friday night, March 10th, 2005 the TNSAR team was paged for a missing skier from Squaw Valley. Brian York called in to coordinate and called out skiers, snow cats, and snowmobiles. The team was to stage at the old fire station, but was then moved to the maintenance yard at the Resort at Squaw Creek. On arrival we were briefed as to the somewhat puzzling situation.

Sherry had been reported missing by friends around noon on Friday. She was last seen skiing on Thursday. Her car was parked at the Resort Maintenance yard, and her skies were found laying together on a groomed run above the Resort at Squaw Creek on Thursday. Squaw patrol had searched the area around the skies Thursday afternoon and all day Friday with no success.

The team skiers split up with four skiers searching the banks of Squaw Creek upstream to the Ski resort, and downstream to Hwy 89. The other 6 skiers were transported in the team snowcat to the location of the skies and searched down from there with particular attention to potential “traps” such as culverts, creeks, snowmaking ponds, etc. By about 9:30 pm all teams had returned to the command post with no success.

A sweep of the terrain East of the groomed runs above the Resort was then conducted with all 10 skiers. They were transported with the snowcat to a point above the skies where they fanned out and searched the woods off the trails with no success. The snow under the trees was soft and rotten. Anyone on foot would have left a deep posthole track.

By about 11:30 pm all agreed to call it a night. The Squaw Valley Ski Patrol and search dogs were planning on conducting a major search in the morning.

According to news reports and the Placer County Sheriff’s. The search effort in the morning found her body at 7:00 am. She was found in a heavily wooded area West of and above where her skies were found. Presumably she fell, slid, hit a tree stump, and then slid further into a tree well. Some passerby must have found her skies and carried them down to the groomed run.

Sheriff Dispatch Comm Van Truck Skiers Snow Cats Snowmobiles
Kelli Twomey
John Pang
Bill Healey Peter York
John Pang
Steve Twomey
Gerald Rockwell
Bob Wright
Brian York
Jim Rienstra
Scott Shane
Jim Coffey
Nick
Sarah Lagano
Holly Beattie
Mike LeFrancois
Scoop Remenih
Dave Gleske