It took search and rescue crews two hours to find five snowboarders from Denver who were lost after skiing out-of-bounds at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

One of the riders called authorities from his cell phone at 5:15pm Saturday to say the group was lost.

With nightfall and harsh winter weather conditions, the call was ranked an extreme high-priority for Douglas County SAR. More than 20 SAR members helped in the search. They used GPS triangulation of the caller’s cell-phone signal to identify the general area where the subjects were lost.

Two snowshoe teams, four snowmobile search teams, and a snowcat tracked rescue vehicle aided in the search. It was a snowshoe teams that located the lost snowboarders. The rescue team guided the lost snowboarders across a stream and up a steep hill, to a nearby road where the snowcat transported them to safety.

The snowboarders, ranging in age from 23-27, were identified as: Jonathan Edmonds, Justin Hubler, Byron Paschell, Aaron Williams and Kerry Crunkleton.

The Douglas County Search and Rescue Team does not charge recipients for the cost of rescue efforts. DCSAR is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization. Members are on call 24/7 year-round, and frequently perform their tasks in harsh weather during late night and early morning hours. The unit depends on generosity from the public for funding and equipment. Financial donations may be mailed to DCSAR at: PO Box 1306, Minden, NV 89423.