Search for 3 snowboarders to continue one more day

Rescue crews plan to search one more day for three Seattle-area men who disappeared last weekend during a snowboarding trip near Crystal Mountain.

"At this point they have not made themselves visible to us. We haven't found a piece of clothing, snowboard or equipment," said Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office. "There is a strong probability they are under the snow."

Troyer said the search would resume this morning. If they do not find the snowboarders, the search will be called off at nightfall, he said.

Since Tuesday, rescuers have scoured the daunting terrain in helicopters and on skis in search of Kevin Carter, 26, Devlin Williams, 29, and Phillip Hollins, 41. The men had gone to the mountain Nov. 30, but failed to return as planned on Sunday.

Troyer said rescue crews haven't picked up any signals emitted from rescue beacon the men were believed to have. Witnesses last saw the men last Saturday in the Bullion Basin, east of the ski resort.

Friends and relatives of the three men have been advised that today will be the last time searchers will scour the rugged backcountry that is several hours from the ski resort, Troyer said.

"We have done what we could," Troyer said.

Gary Brose, Carter and Hollins' boss at Seattle's Fleetfoot Messenger Service, said everyone at the company is "just stunned."

"It's not that it's unexpected. Now you have to come to grips with it," Brose said.

Paul Baugher, ski-patrol director at Crystal Mountain, said high winds, heavy snow and rising temperatures that swept through the mountains last weekend were a recipe for avalanches and "extreme" conditions. Nearly every slope in the backcountry area near Bullion Basin was hit by an avalanche, authorities said.

Baugher himself was trapped in an avalanche in the area Sunday. Fortunately, he was buried in shallow snow, but he had to dig his partner to safety.

During the search, rescuers found a makeshift shelter that they believed the men had built during previous visits to the mountain. But there was no indication they ever made it there, Troyer said.

Troyer said rescuers have to finally quit looking because of the probability that the men couldn't survive that long in the freezing wilderness and because a winter weather system is expected this weekend. According to the National Weather Service, today at Crystal Mountain is sunny but cool, and Sunday is expected to be cloudy with a chance of light snow.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com