Rescue teams searched into the night Sunday scouring snowy Grand Mesa for a 15-year-old Grand Junction boy who became separated from his family while snowmobiling. No leads were found as of 10:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department.
The teen was reported missing by his parents around 2 p.m. Sunday west of the intersection of Colorado Highway 65 and Lands End Road. The family was riding together and “when they turned around, they didn’t see him anymore,” Lt. Jim Fogg said.
A square-mile area was covered by a 15-member search party consisting of 12 members from the Mesa County Search and Rescue team on snowmobiles and three Mesa County sheriff’s deputies. Several civilians also helped look for the boy.
Intermittent snowfall Sunday night hampered visibility and heavy cloud cover added to the darkness, Fogg said.
Starting at 8 a.m. today, a more intensive search will be carried out, Fogg said. The search party will double to 30, with 15 ground team members and 15 rescuers on snowmobiles.
If the teen is not found by this afternoon, Fogg said a helicopter or fixed-wing plane may be deployed, weather permitting.
“The weather service is anticipating snow until noon tomorrow, so that’s when that opportunity would be,” he said.
Fogg said the Sheriff’s Department discourages civilians from volunteering their services out of concern that they might inadvertently damage evidence.
Following snowmobile tracks to determine the boy’s direction is not an option, Fogg said. A high amount of snowmobile traffic in the area makes that unreliable.
The teen was reported missing by his parents around 2 p.m. Sunday west of the intersection of Colorado Highway 65 and Lands End Road. The family was riding together and “when they turned around, they didn’t see him anymore,” Lt. Jim Fogg said.
A square-mile area was covered by a 15-member search party consisting of 12 members from the Mesa County Search and Rescue team on snowmobiles and three Mesa County sheriff’s deputies. Several civilians also helped look for the boy.
Intermittent snowfall Sunday night hampered visibility and heavy cloud cover added to the darkness, Fogg said.
Starting at 8 a.m. today, a more intensive search will be carried out, Fogg said. The search party will double to 30, with 15 ground team members and 15 rescuers on snowmobiles.
If the teen is not found by this afternoon, Fogg said a helicopter or fixed-wing plane may be deployed, weather permitting.
“The weather service is anticipating snow until noon tomorrow, so that’s when that opportunity would be,” he said.
Fogg said the Sheriff’s Department discourages civilians from volunteering their services out of concern that they might inadvertently damage evidence.
Following snowmobile tracks to determine the boy’s direction is not an option, Fogg said. A high amount of snowmobile traffic in the area makes that unreliable.
