Search for skier in Northern California continues amid snow, wind and subfreezing temperatures - Los Angeles Times
Advertisement

Search for skier in Northern California continues amid snow, wind and subfreezing temperatures

Fresh snow surrounds a ski lift in Truckee, Calif.
(Shannon Buhler / Associated Press)
Share via

The search for a skier who went missing Christmas Day at a Northern California ski resort continued Monday as snow and wind battered the area.

Rory Angelotta, 43, after failing to turn up for Christmas dinner, was reported missing just before 10 p.m. Saturday at Northstar California Resort in Truckee, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to Facebook.

The sheriff’s office began searching Saturday night alongside Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, Nevada County Search and Rescue and the Northstar ski patrol. The searchers faced whiteout conditions, low temperatures and avalanche danger.

Advertisement

Dozens of flights were scrapped Monday at LAX, and hundreds were canceled nationally after a weekend of holiday travel woes.

Dec. 27, 2021

The search was called off Sunday evening but restarted about 8 a.m. Monday, although conditions continued to make search efforts dangerous, said Angela Musallam, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.

“It’s still bad,” she said. Searchers are “combing through 6 feet of snow and it’s extremely cold. Visibility is low.”

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the region until 1 a.m. Tuesday, with heavy snow and winds between 10 mph and 20 mph expected. Temperatures will remain below freezing until Thursday.

Advertisement

Musallam said the conditions, including downed trees and power lines, were preventing other search and rescue personnel from reaching the search area.

Caltrans has closed Interstate 80 from the Nevada state line to Applegate, southwest of Truckee.

Advertisement

The sheriff’s office said Angelotta moved to Truckee from Colorado in October and was working at a ski shop at the Northstar resort.

Angelotta made a phone call at 11:25 a.m. Saturday and scanned his ski pass about 11:30 a.m., authorities said. There was no further activity on his phone or ski pass, officials said, and Angelotta’s vehicle was found in the Northstar parking lot.

“We are incredibly saddened by the disappearance of a member of our Tahoe community, and our hearts are with his family and friends,” Vail Resorts, Northstar’s parent company, said Monday in an emailed statement.

Advertisement