'Concerned My Brother's Not Coming Home': Family Battles To Remain Hopeful In Search For Missing Skier At Northstar
NORTHSTAR SKI RESORT (CBS13) — As search and rescue teams at Northstar ski resort battle time and extreme weather trying to locate a missing skier, the family battles to keep hope alive.
Rory Angelotta, 43, from Truckee, has been missing for two days.
"We don't know if he's walking around or if he's hunkered down in a snow cave, or if he's injured, or buried," said sister Kelsey Angelotta, who refuses to believe the worst.
She added, "We're very concerned my brother's not coming home to us but we're still very hopeful."
An avid skier, Rory moved from Colorado to Truckee in October. He works at Surefoot ski shop near the Northstar resort. Friends reported him missing just before 10 p.m. after he failed to show up for Christmas dinner. Kelsey last heard from him around 11 a.m. Christmas morning.
"The last message I had from him was, 'I'm closing up shop and going for a few runs,' " Kelsey said.
Mountain cam photos show extreme weather conditions at the Northstar Ski Resort, where Placer County sheriff's deputies and search and rescue teams searched overnight Saturday and all day Sunday. They planned to continue searching the entire resort Monday but heavy snow loads and avalanche conditions limited the search to one area called The Gulch.
"We're going to keep going until we've exhausted all ability to find him," said Sgt. Mike Powers of the Placer County Sheriff's Office.
Search teams were called off at 4 p.m. Monday due to weather, and they resumed Tuesday. According to Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Tuesday evening, search teams probed tree wells and searched for fresh tracks in the snow.
Both the county and the family are now asking for help from anyone who many have seen Rory.
"Maybe someone saw him on the lift or talked to him on the lift. He's a pretty sociable, friendly guy. He may have told someone what run he was going to do and that could narrow down the search," Kelsey said.
Several agencies were involved in the search Tuesday, including Tahoe Nordic, and search and rescue teams from Placer County, Butte County and Nevada County, Bay Area Mountain Rescue, Tahoe Backcountry Ski Patrol and Northstar California Ski Patrol.