King County Search and Rescue (KCSAR) Public Information Volunteer Alan LaBissoniere said 75-95 SAR crew members are expected to search the Commonwealth Basin area of Snoqualmie Pass this weekend to complete a recovery mission that began on December 19, 2015 when avid outdoorsman and experienced backcountry skier, Monty Busbee, failed to return from an afternoon of skiing in an area very familiar to him.
Members of Seattle Mountain Rescue, King County Explorer Search and Rescue, Everett and Olympic Mountain Rescue will be searching Commonwealth Basin in an attempt to bring Busbee off the mountain and return him to family members.
Busbee’s truck was found Saturday night, December 19th, still parked in the Lower Summit West parking lot. Search personnel looked for him in treacherous conditions for over a week as Busbee was known to carry a backpack with supplies and an avalanche beacon when he skied the backcountry.
The search was ultimately suspended due to the number of big snowstorms and subsequent record snowfall (over 100 inches in one week) that hit Snoqualmie Pass in December.
This past Saturday, May 7th, members from Seattle Mountain Rescue and KCSAR searched the Kendall Peaks area for Busbee with search dogs and although they covered a lot of terrain, they were still unable to locate him.
With the large number of SAR volunteers responding for this weekend’s planned search, LaBissoniere said they are hopeful that they will finally be able to bring Monty Busbee down from the mountain.
Comments
FYI Ski Patrol Rescue Team (SPART) and other units (K9 and ESAR) from KCSARA and Kittitas were there as well and will be this weekend.
Heroes, that is what you are. Rescuing your lives to find this poor boy. Best wishes.