UPDATED: Search suspended for missing snowboarder on Mt. Hood

Searchers started the day with good weather and snow conditions. As searching progressed, the snow conditions deteriorated due to warmer temperatures, creating some challenges in navigating terrain for ground teams. Operations concluded around 5 p.m. on April 7, without locating any sign of Mather.

Teams covered hundreds of acres of terrain during the previous three operational periods, checking some areas multiple times, said the press release. Weather overnight and into Friday was expected to create conditions that are too dangerous for search teams, leading to the suspension of current efforts. 

Going forward, the Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol will continue search efforts to locate Mather.

A spokesperson for the family expressed their thanks for all the efforts that have been made to find Mather. They said they are grateful for the outpouring of support and well-wishes but asked that their privacy be respected during this very difficult time. 

Assisting the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office with search operations on April 7, were the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Hood River Crag Rats, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Portland Mountain Rescue, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol, Mt. Hood Meadows Public Safety, and Oregon Emergency Management.

April 7 report:

MOUNT HOOD — Search and Rescue operations resumed the morning of Thursday, April 7 for missing snowboarder Ryan Mather, 30, of Aloha., according to a HRCSO press release.

Mather was reported overdue by his girlfriend around 9:30 p.m. on April 5. Mather had been snowboarding at Mt. Hood Meadows during the day and had failed to return to his residence. 

Mather’s vehicle was located at Mt. Hood Meadows, prompting personnel from the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, Hood River Crag Rats and Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol to initiate an immediate search for Mather. 

Rescue crews will continue to search the technical black diamond and double black diamond rated areas in and around Heather Canyon and the Private Reserve today, April 7. Those areas are closed to the public due to the high avalanche risk from the terrain above. Personnel continue to focus on the areas accessed from the Mt. Hood Meadows Shooting Star chair lift, the last location Mather’s ski pass was scanned late Tuesday morning.  

Weather overnight on the mountain was warmer, with the higher elevations at Mt. Hood Meadows seeing temperatures around 40 degrees, creating less than ideal snow conditions for ground teams, according to a HRCSO press release. In addition to the snow conditions, searchers are expected to face avalanche risks in much of the search area today.

Assisting the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office with search operations on April 7 are the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Hood River Crag Rats, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Portland Mountain Rescue, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol, Mt. Hood Meadows Public Safety, and Oregon Emergency Management.

Assisting April 6 were Hood River Crag Rats, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Mt. Hood Meadows, Portland Mountain Rescue, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and the Oregon Air National Guard.

Hood River County Sheriff Matt English said additional information will be reported as it becomes available.