Rescuers follow screams to find California skier missing for hours, officials say
.jpg "A California skier was found after she was missing for hours because someone heard her screaming, Oregon officials said.")
A person walking through an Oregon snow park heard a woman yelling. It helped lead rescuers to a skier who had been lost for hours.
A cross-country skier from California was reported overdue Dec. 27 after she became separated from her family, the Deschutes County Search and Rescue Foundation said. They had been skiing at the Virginia Meissner Snow Park, about 10 miles west of Bend.
“It was learned that an adult female had been skiing with two family members with intentions of skiing to the Nordeen Shelter,” rescuers said on Facebook. “She became separated from her party and was last seen around 4:20 p.m.”
Deputies from the sheriff’s office and 10 search and rescue volunteers began searching for the woman immediately. Ski teams became searching nearby trails.
For hours, rescuers searched for the woman with no luck. Then, shortly before 9:30 p.m., a person reported hearing a woman yelling near a different shelter.
“A ski team responded to the area and was able to make voice contact with the subject, eventually locating her by crossing a ravine to her location,” rescuers said.
The woman was in good condition and skied back to the parking lot. She was reunited with her family about seven hours after she was last seen.
“The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind those recreating in our forests to take precautions, carrying (at a minimum): a cellular phone and extra battery pack, extra layers of clothes, food, water, and a light source,” rescuers said.
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Rescuers follow screams to find California skier missing for hours, officials say."