Search Area Narrowed for Snowboarder Missing in Wyoming

UPDATE: JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A winter storm and increased avalanche danger are hampering the search for a Grand Targhee Resort worker who failed to return from snowboarding last Friday.

Teton County Sheriff's Sgt. Matt Carr tells the Jackson Hole News & Guide that efforts to find 34-year-old Lee Kidd are focused on the back side of Targhee. However, crews may not be able to safely search the area on Wednesday.

A friend of Kidd's, Bryan Terwilliger, said Kidd texted him Friday and said he was getting comfortable snowboarding out-of-bounds. Terwilliger says the two had taken avalanche training and that Kidd knew how to build a snow shelter.

Natalie Kidd told the newspaper her older brother was working his first season at Grand Targhee and had recently moved to Driggs, Idaho from Bozeman, Montana.

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Teton County Search and Rescue has narrowed its search for a missing snowboarder to an avalanche-prone snowfield behind Grand Targhee Resort, where he worked in one of the kitchens.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports the search area for 34-year-old Lee Kidd of Driggs, Idaho, was narrowed after talking with witnesses who may have seen Kidd on Friday before he went missing. Sheriff's Sgt. Matt Carr says the search has been challenging. A foot of snow and high winds have covered any tracks while stormy weather limited a helicopter search to about an hour on Saturday.

The snowfield rescuers are focusing on has a large cornice prone to avalanche and a 500-foot cliff. Teams were unable to search the area thoroughly on Monday. Carr says teams planned to search the area again on Tuesday.