CONEJOS COUNTY – New Mexico State Patrol tells 9NEWS they have made contact with the six people from two families who have been missing since Friday on a snowmobile trip.
The Conejos County Sheriff's Office says the six people were last seen Friday, 30 miles north of Chama, N.M., just north of 10,222-foot-high Cumbres Pass, before a winter storm dumped three to four feet of snow on the area. New Mexico State Police say the snowmobilers left at about 10 a.m. They were scheduled to be back by 6 p.m. Friday, but never made it.
On Monday morning, state patrol said they had made contact but did not give any additional information about conditions or what type of contact had been made.
The two families are from Farmington, N.M., and were reported missing Saturday morning. New Mexico State Police began searching near Chama. The car the group traveled in, and their snowmobile trailer, was found nearby.
The search was suspended at 5 p.m. Saturday due to heavy snowfall and was delayed again Sunday morning by inclement weather and a road closure leading to the pass.
"The weather did not break," said Steve Crawford with New Mexico Search and Rescue. "We ended up turning around. Colorado did not open up their side of the border and the road we need to access is seven miles into Colorado."
New Mexico State Police did not give details about the next step in the search and rescue process.
Police say the following are missing:
Jason Groen, 36; Shannon Groen, 31; Aspen Groen, 14; Mike Martin and Missy Martin, both said to be in their 30s and Jessie Martin, 14.
Sgt. Clint Varnell says the snowmobilers were dressed for the weather. He is hoping they found a cabin and are waiting out the storm there.
While the bulk of the search effort based in New Mexico was stalled, another team worked from the Colorado side of Cumbres Pass. Troy Golden, a search volunteer from Monte Visto, reported that 20 searchers from Colorado were out for six hours Sunday. Golden said they checked cabins near Ozure Station but were hampered by heavy snow. He says they found no sign of the missing families.
