Industry News
Heavenly, CA ski patrollers with the help of a search dog found the body of missing skier Brett Herrick at about 10 am Tuesday, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Herrick, 62, from Seaside, California, was positively identified, according to Undersheriff Paul Howell. Searchers had been looking for Herrick since around 4:30 pm Monday when emergency dispatchers received word he was missing. Herrick was last seen by his girlfriend on the Comet run at around 11:30 am.
“He was found in the Aries Woods, between the Comet and Dipper runs,” Howell said. “Herrick was located in the wooded area, about 100 feet from the groomed trail. He was immersed in deep snow.”
Patrol crews were not able to find him, and so called in the Sheriff’s Office, which enlisted help from a Naval Air Station Fallon helicopter, as well as Washoe, Placer and El Dorado County Sheriff’s Offices. Late Tuesday morning, Heavenly Ski Patrol with the assistance of a K9 search dog, found Herrick’s body. He was found in the Aries Woods, between the Comet and Dipper runs. He was in the wooded area, about 100 feet from the groomed trail, immersed in deep snow.
Initial investigation indicates Herrick crashed into very deep powder and could not self-rescue and likely suffocated or died from exposure. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death, reports the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
