Snowboarder missing from ski area near Terrace, B.C., has been found

Shames Mountain has confirmed that a 39-year-old snowboarder who went missing in the Shames Mountain ski area near Terrace, B.C., on Tuesday evening was found around 1 pm Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital by ambulance.

Tim Giannou, who is believed to be an experienced snowboarder, was reported missing around 7 p.m. His vehicle was spotted at the Shames Mountain access road.

Terrace Search and Rescue joined in the search efforts Tuesday night and said it conducted an on-mountain, inbounds search of areas that would have a high likelihood of a snowboarder becoming injured or stuck.

The night-time search posed challenges for crews and was paused early Wednesday.

Sarah Zimmerman, a spokesperson for Shames Mountain, said in a news release the snowboarder was discovered just out of bounds and has been transported to Mills Memorial Hospital.

There is no information available at this time on his condition.

Zimmerman said, "Out of consideration for him, his family, our staff and our patrons, we have made the decision to close the mountain for the rest of today and tomorrow."

One of the search managers from Terrace Search and Rescue, David Jephson, said earlier in the day that command posts were set up in the ski area as well as in town. He said at least 18 team members had been working to locate Giannou, in addition to mountain staff and RCMP.

"People coming in from Kitimat who are skiers to help with this ... you can't send an average skier in to some of these areas; they have to be definitely trained with avalanche training and knowledge," Jephson said.

The search was made more difficult by heavy snowfall, which continued throughout the day, covering any tracks from Tuesday evening.

"All the information we have indicates that the missing snowboarder's intention was to stay inbounds yesterday," Shames Mountain general manager Christian Theberge said in a statement.

"Information provided to us by those close to him indicated that the man left his touring gear at home and had intended to stay inbounds."

Jephson said it seemed Giannou had every intention of being home for dinner last night.