VANCOUVER — A teen snowboarder who was reported missing on Grouse Mountain late Friday has died.
The boy, a 16-year-old Brazilian exchange student, had been snowboarding with friends on the Heaven’s Sake run before he became separated from the group about 7 p.m.
When the boy failed to meet up with the group, a friend became concerned and reported the disappearance to staff.
Staff at the mountain began an initial search before North Shore Rescue crews and RCMP were called in about 9:30 p.m. due to worsening weather conditions that included heavy fog and sleet.
Rescue spokesman Tim Jones said a full general call — described as “all hands on deck” — was immediately initiated, while RCMP attempted to “ping” the boy’s cellphone signal for a location.
“Given the nature of the situation and the weather … I had a bad feeling about this call right off the bat,” Jones said.
The boy’s cellphone signal was tracked to his backpack, which had been stashed at a chalet close to his last known location.
Jones said it was just after midnight when they found the boy in full cardiac arrest, a short distance away from the backpack.
“One of our field teams found the young male snowboarder about 50 metres off the service road and ski run called Heaven’s Sake,” Jones said.
Crews performed CPR for 30 minutes but were unable to resuscitate the boy and he was declared dead at the scene.
According to Cpl. Richard De Jong with the North Vancouver RCMP, it’s believed the boy had fallen off the main trail and struck a tree prior to going into cardiac arrest.
No foul play is suspected. De Jong noted the boy was not wearing a helmet at the time and said it is considered a contributing cause in the boy’s death.
“This is a most unfortunate and tragic accident which took the life of a young man,” De Jong said. “Our condolences go out to both family and friends at this time.”
Jones said the incident was a “one-off” event and that it’s unlikely the boy went out of bounds intentionally.
However, he said it’s key for snowboarders and skiers to remember that the early conditions of mountains mean some rocky terrain is still visible and uncovered by snow.
“What I want to say is that the winter season is coming and when you have situations like this, the urgency to find someone is sky-high,” Jones said, reminding snow enthusiasts to be well prepared and warmly outfitted.
“Hypothermia is the No. 1 thing you need to worry about.”
The boy’s family in Brazil, as well as his host family in B.C., have been notified.
