PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The body of a snowboarder, missing since Tuesday night, was recovered Saturday morning, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said.
Ryan Mather was reported missing around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday after he went snowboarding along at Mount Hood Meadows. Crews immediately began looking for the 30-year-old Aloha resident, who was described as an experienced snowboarder by his family.
When the search began, Hood River County Sheriff Matt English said the searchers included areas of Heather Canyon “and parts of the backcountry that you can access.”
His body was found buried in avalanche debris in Clark Creek in the Heather Canyon area on Friday afternoon. Because of the difficulty in recovering his body, the operation was carried out early Saturday.
The recovery took about 2 hours, officials said. During the search and recovery, much of the area was under active avalanche warnings.
In a statement, English said, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ryan’s family. This has been an incredibly difficult and heart-wrenching five days for them. We are extremely thankful to all of the agencies and organizations that helped search for Ryan and ultimately recover him for his family.”