A Massachusetts snowboarder died Tuesday at Stowe Mountain Resort after being missing for about eight hours.
Brett Cohen, 22, of Needham, Mass. was found at 11:30 p.m. Monday, at the end of a lengthy search, in the woods between the Nosedive and Cliff trails. He was taken to the UVM Medical Center, where he died.
According to Stowe Mountain Rescue, Cohen and a friend got on the gondola together at 3:20 p.m. Monday, and Cohen was last seen at 3:45 p.m., and later reported overdue.
After an initial search proved unsuccessful, search and rescue teams split into two groups and swept two different sections of in-bounds woods, based on Cohen’s last known whereabouts.
Cohen was found in the woods, less than 30 meters from the Cliff Trail, unresponsive. He was face down, buried from head to mid-thigh in a snow pit caused by a stream that had not frozen over. According to Stowe Mountain Rescue, the roughly 8-foot-deep well had been likely filled with fresh snow, masking the hazard.
Stowe Police Chief Donald Hull said he was notified of Cohen’s death Tuesday morning.
Cohen was a student at University of Vermont, majoring in nutrition and food sciences, and he was involved in the school’s Jewish student group and its ski and snowboard club.
“We extend our deepest condolences to Brett’s family,” said Annie Stevens, UVM’s vice provost for student affairs. “Our sincere thoughts of care and sympathy are also extended to Brett’s friends and to faculty and staff who were close to him.”
Mike Colbourn, Stowe Mountain Resort’s vice president of marketing, sales and communication, offered similar sentiments Tuesday.
“Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to Brett’s family and friends,” Colbourn said.
Stowe Mountain Rescue, Vermont State Police Search and Rescue, Waterbury Backcountry Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue, Stowe Police Department, Mt. Mansfield Ski Patrol and the Stowe Rescue squad aided in the search.
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