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Authorities: Missing snowboarder found dead at Lake Tahoe resort

Associated Press

A snowboarder who was missing since Thursday was found dead Friday at Squaw Valley Ski Resort, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

Squaw Valley Ski Patrol members located the body of 42-year-old Wenyu Zhang, of Rocklin, Friday morning after friends reported he was missing Thursday night.

A tracking program used by Squaw helped narrow the search area, according to the sheriff’s office. Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue began searching late Thursday night when Zhang did not return.

His cause of death is undetermined, according to the sheriff’s office. Zhang was wearing a helmet when he was found.

ORIGINAL POST: Search for missing skier at Lake Tahoe resort

Search and rescue crews in the Sierra are looking for a skier who went missing in a blizzard at a resort near Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue launched a search at about 9 p.m. Thursday after a skier was reported missing at the Squaw Valley Resort in Olympic Valley south of Truckee, California. That’s about the same time a 146 mph (235 kph) gust of wind was reported at the top of the resort.

The search was suspended overnight due to avalanche danger. But the rescue team, Squaw Valley ski patrol and Placer County Sheriff’s Office resumed the search at daylight Friday.

High winds and the threat of avalanches postponed the opening of several area ski resorts Friday morning.

More than 3 feet (90 centimeters) of snow already has fallen at several resorts, including Mount Rose on the edge of Reno. Another foot (30 cm) of snow is possible by Saturday morning.


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