LOWMAN, Idaho — Tyler Beyer, 30, has been missing since Sunday, March 12, when he headed out on a snowmobile trip northeast of Lowman.
U.S. Forest Service staff notified the Boise County Sheriff's Office on Monday, March 13, after Beyer, also a Forest Service employee on the Lowman Ranger District, didn't show up for work.
Beyer was on a snowmobile in the Lick Creek area. The Boise County Sheriff believes he could be in that area or somewhere south of Miller Mountain, since that is where he commonly rides. A hunter reported seeing Beyer on March 12. That was the last confirmed sighting.
Boise County Sheriff Scott Turner said Beyer was riding in an area that was not groomed for snowmobiling, and he was relatively new to the sport. Beyer did not have an avalanche beacon with him, Turner said, and there have been quite a few avalanches in the area.
The sheriff's office describes Beyer as 6-foot, 175 pounds, with brown hair, a goatee and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a Green Virtika snow jacket and black helmet, with orange mirrored-lens goggles.
His snowmobile is a black Artic Cat Alpha One Mountain Cat, with purple and lime green trim.
Searches have ensued -- Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue, Boise County Search and Rescue, U.S Forest Service law enforcement, backcountry snowmobilers and volunteers from the Boise Snowmobile Club were all out looking for Beyer. Air searches were also completed by the National Guard and Civil Air Patrol.
Teams searched area that included Miller Mountain, Red Mountain and Lick Creek on March 15-18, sunup to sundown, Turner said. The organized search effort was "put on pause" after Saturday, March 18, Turner said, due to weather conditions and avalanche danger. Law enforcement officials are waiting for the snowpack in the area to stabilize before resuming.
Turner said every day of the search, crews have documented new snow slides. Avalanche conditions and terrain are rough, he said, with steep slopes and deep canyons. Turner warns people to stay clear of avalanche areas, pay close attention to weather and avalanche reports, and do not go into the backcountry alone.
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