Search for 2 missing Bellingham snowboarders suspended, for now
Published 1:30 am Thursday, November 16, 2017
By Robert Mittendorf / The Bellingham Herald
Friends and family of two snowboarders missing since Sunday in the Mount Baker backcountry were searching on their own Thursday, after official rescue operations were suspended.
Jake Amancio, 22, and Drew Lenz, 20, both of Bellingham, were reported overdue by a roommate Sunday afternoon when they didn’t return from a planned day of backcountry snowboarding in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Friends and family have turned to social media for help as official search efforts halted at least temporarily Wednesday evening, amid heavy snowfall and continued avalanche danger in the remote region.
Lisa Correll Amancio, Jake’s mother, appealed for help with several public Facebook posts Wednesday and Thursday.
“Calling all snowboarders and skiers headed up to Mt. Baker (Ski Area) opening day(Thursday)!!!” she posted. “Please join our search. These boys would do the same for anyone else in need.”
One Facebook post said Jake Amancio is 5-foot-11 and 150 pounds with black hair. He was wearing a gray and brown ski jacket and camouflage pants. Lenz was described as 6-foot-1 and 155 pounds with brown hair. He was wearing light blue ski jacket, brown pants and a black/red beanie hat. Both men are light-skinned.
A gofundme page was started to help pay for search-related expenses. By Thursday morning, it had raised $4,780 of a $25,000 goal.
Mt. Baker Ski Area workers found the men’s abandoned vehicle at the Heather Meadows parking lot and a search began at 7 a.m. Monday, amid blizzard-like conditions. Teams of some 30 people included Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office rescue personnel, Border Patrol rescue teams, and trained search and rescue volunteers.
Snow has lessened but avalanche danger remained high Thursday, officials said. Forecast for the west slopes of the North Cascades called for snow showers before 4 p.m., then a mix of rain and snow. Temperatures were in the 30s. Mostly cloudy skies with a chance of showers is forecast for Friday and Saturday.
Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks said early search efforts concentrated in the Swift Creek drainage south from Artist Point, past the unplowed section of Mount Baker Highway. Other areas of focus include Table Mountain, Herman Saddle and Mazama Bowl above a trail that starts from the Heather Meadows parking lot.
Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Jilk, who coordinates wilderness rescues, said Wednesday that crews still want to search upper elevations of those areas after avalanche conditions decrease.
Officials at Mt. Baker Ski Area, which opened for the season Thursday, said Amancio and Lenz were not believed to have entered the ski area boundaries. Ski Area employees preparing for the season have searched its slopes and are staying alert for signs of the two men, said Gwyn Howat, executive vice president.
