The search continues today (Jan. 16) for 23-year-old Carson May, a skiing instructor from Sugar Bowl ski resort near Lake Tahoe. May was reported missing Friday morning.
There are a reported 43 people involved in the search today for May, who is from Davis. The Placer County Search and Rescue has been looking for May on the backside and additional areas at Sugar Bowl ski resort. According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, May has been missing since early Thursday evening.
May was last seen Thursday wearing a blue Columbia jacket, bright green ski pants and a blue helmet.
The rescue crews have been focused on searching the backside of Sugar Bowl, where there have seen slides during the day.
“There were white out conditions on the top summit so he could have gotten disoriented and went down the wrong run or somewhere on the back side,” said David Hunt with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said today.
Dozens of people were searching for May on Friday.
“We have search teams out in the field looking for him right now,” said Det. John Lasagna, of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office on Friday. “Sugar Bowl has their ski patrol looking inside. We have Tahoe Nordic searching on the backside. And we are, you know, preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.”
May is a Sugar Bowl Mountain Sports Learning Center ski instructor who was skiing Thursday afternoon while off duty. He was expected to receive a ride home with a friend that evening, but didn’t show. A friend didn’t believe anything was wrong with May and went home.
Friends reported May as missing at 10 a.m. Friday when they discovered he never came home Thursday evening. His belongings were still in his Sugar Bowl locker Friday morning.
The sheriff’s office and the Tahoe Nordic Team have skiers, snowmobiles and a Snocat searching for May in the area. A helicopter has been actively searching as well.
According to Sugar Bowl’s snow report, the ski resort received 5 inches of snow overnight on Thursday at the summit and 3 inches at the base. Temperatures were in the 20s during the last 24 hours.
A Sugar Bowl spokesperson said the ski resort has been in communication with May’s family.
Jeffrey Weidel can be reached at skiweidel@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffweidel and visit his website at www.tahoeskiworld.com.
