France
Andorra
Czech Republic
New Zealand
Sweden
Austria
Bulgaria
Finland
Norway
Switzerland
Italy
Canada
Japan
Spain
USA
Missing Snowboarder Turns Up in Resort Casino after $40K Search
Read this amazing story of a missing snowboarder, it does have a happy ending....
An overnight search of the slopes of Heavenly ski resort in California failed to find a missing snowboarder. They should have been looking in a local casino in neighbouring Nevada.
A rescue patrol and a team of volunteers spent a long, cold night searching for a snowboarder who went missing from California's Heavenly Mountain ski resort. The brother of 24-year-old Corey Hamilton reported the man as missing after they were separated on the slopes the previous afternoon.
The missing snowboarder's cell phone was found in his car, still in its parking space in the resort's lot.
He turned up alive and well the next morning after deputies managed to contact him at the Stagecoach Lodge. He had spent the night in the Horizon Hotel Casino in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Mr. Hoffman headed to the casino with an acquaintance, oblivious to the massive search.
San Francisco ABC News affiliate KGO-TV reports that the local sheriff's office says details about the drama were "conflicting, due to the consumption of alcohol."
As details unfolded, it became clear that the brothers' recollections about how and where they became separated were at odds, and that drinking was most likely to blame.
The brother who reported Hoffman missing thought he'd last seen him on the mountain, while his brother said they left the bar and returned to skiing.
The rescue effort involved 75 people who braved the wind, snow, and even the threat of an avalanche to find the missing man. The cost of the operation, including the use of two helicopters, is estimated at $40,000. That's an expensive tab for an embarrassing failure to communicate. Most of that expense falls on the Nevada Office of Emergency Management, Douglas County, and Washoe County.
A report on the incident is in progress. Douglas County authorities have yet to decide if it will find wrongdoing on the part of the brothers and involve the district attorney.
Both brothers – and their father – apologized for the incident.
