The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said search efforts resumed Monday to find the skier who disappeared since Christmas Day, SFGATE reported.
Search operations were temporarily stopped on Sunday evening because of conditions but it continued the next day amid an intense snowstorm.
The search aims to locate a Truckee resident Rory Angelotta, 43, the sheriff’s office said.
The missing skier was identified as Surefoot ski shop’s general manager, which is located at Northstar Ski Resort. Angelotta was originally from Colorado and transferred to the area in October.
At around 11:30 on Saturday morning, Angelotta was going up the Comstock Lift where his card was last scanned.
According to the sheriff’s office, an emergency alert was flashed on his phone, showing a brief call from the Northstar location at 11:25 in the morning.
The skier was set to meet friends over dinner on Saturday but he did not appear, the sheriff’s office said. Calls made for him were directed to the voicemail and his car was left in the parking space.
The sheriff’s office added that there is a notable gap between Angelotta’s non-appearance on the scheduled dinner and the report that reached deputies. No tracks or proof were seen by searchers who tried to locate him in possible areas he could have gone.
Even though he is not familiar with the area, Angelotta is believed to be equipped with avalanche equipment as he is also an experienced skier. Rescue personnel on snowmobiles were deployed Sunday to locate him and there was a high risk of avalanche in the area he went.
But his disappearance was recorded as Sierra was affected by a snowstorm on Monday. According to the sheriff’s office, rescuers confront “high avalanche danger, strong winds, whiteout flurries, frigid temperatures, and heavy snow loads.”
“We are hoping to get information to lead us to where Angelotta may have chosen to ski the afternoon he went missing,” it said. “Angelotta is described as very friendly and outgoing.”
