Industry News
On April 5, 2022, around 9:30 pm, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office received information about a missing snowboarder at Mt. Hood Meadows, OR. The missing subject, identified as Ryan Mather, 30 years old, of Aloha, was reported overdue by his girlfriend. Mather had been snowboarding at Mt. Hood Meadows during the day and had failed to return to his residence.
Mather’s vehicle was located at Mt. Hood Meadows, prompting personnel from the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, Hood River Crag Rats, and Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol to search for Mather immediately. Overnight operations to locate Mather was not successful.
Searchers worked throughout the day Wednesday to locate Mathers on Mt. Hood, but unfortunately, they did not find him. In addition to ground resources, air asset’s from the Oregon Army National Guard, and drones operated by Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue were utilized to supplement efforts. More than forty ground searchers in fourteen teams covered a significant area throughout the day. Ground crews had to contend with increasing avalanche dangers in much of the search area as temperatures rose in the afternoon.
Additional search efforts are planned for April 7, searching the vast terrain accessed from the Shooting Star chair lift at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort, Mr. Mather’s last known location. Thursday’s operations will utilize skiers in the black diamond and double black diamond areas in and around Heather Canyon and the Private Reserve.
Assisting with search operations on April 6, 2022, were Clackamas, Deschutes, and Lane County Sheriffs’ Offices, Hood River Crag Rats, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Portland Mountain Rescue, Eugene Mountain Rescue, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol and avalanche dog, Mt. Hood Meadows Public Safety, Oregon Army National Guard, and Oregon Emergency Management.
