4 LOST, 6 FOUND ; Snowboarder Searches Hampered By Weather

Jan 08, 02:11 PM

While severe weather continued to frustrate search and rescue teams Monday, family and friends of four missing snowboarders clung to hope knowing that the they have some winter sport experience.

Michael George and Kyle Kerschen of Albuquerque, both 27, have been missing since Friday, when they went snowboarding at Wolf Creek Ski Area in Colorado.

"Knowing my son, he's burrowed in somewhere," George's mother, Laura George, said Monday. "That's what we want to hope for. He's smart, and I know he's going to be resourceful."

The two had cell phones, one with a GPS. But that phone was found in the trunk of their car in the ski area.

Dr. Adam Putnam, 36, and fiancee Rachel Fehl, 30, who both recently moved to Albuquerque, haven't been seen since Saturday afternoon, when they went snowboarding at Ski Santa Fe.

They contacted authorities by cell phone Sunday and said they had been able to build a snow cave for shelter.

But search and rescue teams were unable to locate Putnam and Fehl after a day battling snowy conditions and low visibility Monday.

The couple moved to Albuquerque after Putnam completed medical school, apparently in Pennsylvania, and took a job at Lovelace Hospital as an emergency room physician.

State Department of Public Safety spokesman Peter Olson said that, according to Putnam's father, Putnam has avalanche training and is experienced in winter camping.

Putnam's father said both Adam Putnam and Fehl are "athletic and fit," Olson said, adding that Putnam is also "an extreme kayaker."

Search and rescue teams from across the state have been working with State Police since early Monday morning looking for the couple.

However, the last communication they had was about 10:30 Sunday night, according to State Police Incident Commander Wes Crownover, who was at the ski area all day Monday.

'Put to the test'

Family and friends of George and Kerschen also waited anxiously Monday as severe weather hindered search efforts at a Colorado ski area where the Albuquerque men took to the slopes Friday.

Emergency personnel held out hope that a storm at Wolf Creek would lift by this morning, allowing helicopters to aid the search for the men.

"He's an experienced snowboarder, but he's never been put to the test like this," Laura George said of her son.

Family members have requested a State Police helicopter equipped with infrared sensors to join the search effort, she said.

Olson said Colorado personnel said they had the resources to search the Wolf Creek area without State Police assistance. The agency plans to use its helicopter today to search for Putnam and Fehl, he said.

Searchers on foot and snowmobiles combed the Wolf Creek Ski Area on Monday and a break in the weather allowed a helicopter to join the search for about two hours, Mineral County, Colo., Sheriff Fred Hosselkus said. Weather remained an impediment.

"It's snowing pretty heavy up there right now," he said about noon Monday. Colorado Hwy. 160 also remained closed because of avalanche dangers. "The snow and the weather -- it has been a real problem for us," he said.

Laura George said her son would not have intentionally skied outside the boundaries of the ski area unless he had became disoriented in the storm.

"That wouldn't be something that he would do on purpose," she said.

Wolf Creek ski patrol members reported speaking with the two men about 1:30 p.m. Friday at a site called Knife's Edge near the highest summit of the ski area, said Mark George, Michael George's stepfather.

Michael George, who operates Gene Mariez Salon, an Albuquerque nail salon, and Kerschen, a civil engineer and New Mexico State University graduate, have been friends since childhood and roomed together, family members said. "They go way back," said Tom Kerschen, Kyle Kerschen's father. Both attended Sandia High School and the two have many friends who are offering comfort to the families, he said. "There's quite a close-knit circle of friends that have come together," Tom Kerschen said.

The two drove to Wolf Creek early Friday and had planned to spend the day on the slopes before meeting with Laura and Mark George that evening, the couple said.

"It was very peculiar that Michael didn't call us during the day," said Mark George. "We called him all day and never got an answer."

The couple searched the parking lot for Michael George's vehicle, not realizing that the men had arrived in Kyle Kerschen's Honda Prelude, Mark George said.

Resort officials found Kerschen's car in the parking lot late Saturday after his father called the resort, Tom Kerschen said. Kerschen's cell phone, which contained a GPS device, was found in the trunk, he said.

"It's a scary situation," said Taos Search and Rescue Team member Donna LeFurgey, whose team had spent almost 10 hours on Monday searching for Putnam and Fehl. "They may be very cold right now."

Putnam and Fehl had taken the Millennium Lift to the top of the ski area about 3 p.m. Saturday and probably got lost around the Namb Lake drainage area, Crownover said.

Several search and rescue teams from across the state, including the National Guard, were deployed to the ski area.

While their exact location was unknown, Crownover said the couple was able to provide a general altitude reading from an altimeter they are carrying.

The fact the couple has such a device -- and that they were able to dig a cave -- gives rescuers hope that the two can hold out for a while until help finds them.

"Because it seems they have a little bit of cold weather survival skills, it could mean their chance of survival might be high," Crownover said.

A winter storm warning late Monday called for overnight lows, with winds, to possibly reach 5 to 10 degrees below zero, with up to 4 inches of new snow in the higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service.

Tony Ortega and his team of Northern Snow-Drift Breakers had begun searching on snowmobiles about 10 a.m. Monday but had to halt their efforts after less than three miles.

"Visibility was so bad that it was impossible for us to continue," said Ortega. "Hopefully, we can try it again if it clears up in morning."

(c) 2008 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. 4 LOST, 6 FOUND ; Snowboarder Searches Hampered By Weather
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