Industry News
Three men were arrested on Monday after stealing snowboards at Boreal Mountain Resort in Soda Springs, California, near Lake Tahoe. The trio was charged with grand theft and criminal conspiracy, along with additional charges for two of the men who are on probation, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. Based on KCRA’s report, it took only 15 unattended minutes for two snowboarders to realize one of their boards was missing off a ski rack near the ticket office.
The snowboarders searched around the resort until they spotted the stolen board in the bed of a pickup truck. Lt. Rusty Greene of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said “They confronted the subject that was in the truck about stealing the snowboard.” As they approached the man in the truck, the other two culprits walked up and things went south after one of them assaulted one of the snowboarders after confronting them about the board. The three men fled in the truck before officers arrived on the scene.
Luckily, the two snowboarders supplied sufficient information on the profiles of the thieves and the truck to give to deputies for their investigation. Soon after, the sheriff’s office tracked down the truck to an address in Grass Valley, California. The officers found the three men at the home while also uncovering four more snowboards that they believed to be stolen.
Incidents like these are big letdowns, especially considering how much money goes into snow sports. Not to mention, thefts were reported by CBS News earlier this month at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania after a snowboard and other valuables were stolen from guests. Skiers and snowboarders are definitely going to be more cautious when leaving their equipment and valuables unattended. It will be interesting to see how resorts respond to incidents like these, and if more resources will go into security measures like cameras and lockable racks.
