Father of missing skier wonders if better technology could have helped rescue effort
By Richard Chang, Sacramento Bee
A day after the search for his missing son was called off at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, Mike May put on his skis and headed back up the hill.
May and a few family members huddled together Wednesday amid cold temperatures to “celebrate Carson and the place where he loved so much — the mountains and the ski slopes,” Mike May said during an interview Thursday at his Davis home.
Carson May, a 23-year-old Sugar Bowl ski instructor, disappeared Jan. 14. An exhaustive search spanning several days turned up few clues, and Placer County authorities canceled the operation Tuesday because it was unlikely Carson would be found alive.
May, 62, wonders whether better technology could have helped rescuers precisely locate his son. Authorities pinged Carson’s cell phone, but that provided only a general area of where he may have been located. May said the Find My Phone app could have given searchers a GPS coordinate. However, he said, existing privacy laws make it difficult to gain access to that information from the cellular companies unless the app was previously enabled.
All the technology in the world can’t replace: Always ski with a buddy especially in the back country. Sad situation here for sure.
Kits. Agree, technology can fail. Ski in the woods with a buddy (or more) and never leave anybody behind.
Very Sad, but a poor time to play would have-could have-should have with technology.
23 year old males in particular have nearly no sense of mortality and usually think whatever happens they can handle it.
I remember this well. I was lucky and somehow survived my own errors in judgement.
At this point the takeaway is to focus on emphasizing common sense for all your kids and friends, and if you are not taking someone along, telling someone where you are should be a given.
If you are carrying electronics make sure you know how to use them to your advantage and keep the batteries charged.
My sincere sympathy for the May family.