A volunteer search and rescue team in Haines found two snowboarders who got lost in a gully while descending Mount Ripinski Saturday evening.
Alaska State Troopers said in a dispatch that Patrick Pritchard, 31, and Erin Kelly, 32, both of Maine, were located uninjured after a two-and-a-half hour search by volunteers.
According to an online dispatch from troopers, the incident began when Alaska State Troopers received a report of two snowboarders lost in a gully on the mountain at about 5:02 p.m. Saturday. Mount Ripinski is located about two miles northeast of downtown Haines.
Alaska State Troopers contacted Pritchard on his cell phone, and Pritchard told troopers that they could see the lights from town, but they were unsure of their exact location.
The local search team responded and began systematically checking possible trails and locations based on the information Pritchard provided before his cell phone battery died, the dispatch states.
Troopers, who coordinated the search, said searchers located the snowboarders on the Piedad Trail at 7:30 p.m. the same evening. The search team escorted the two back to the trailhead without further incident.
