[NAGDU] Mike May

Wed Jan 20 18:26:13 UTC 2016

They suspended looking for his son. 

Mike May's son still missing

CREWS STILL SEARCH FOR CARSON MAY

By Marjie Lundstrom

mlundstrom at sacbee.com <mailto:mlundstrom at sacbee.com>
<mailto:mlundstrom at sacbee.com> 

Nearly 16 years ago, Mike May of Davis saw his wife and two young children 

for the first time when bandages were removed from his eyes following a 

pioneering surgery that partially restored his eyesight, according to media 

accounts at the time. Blinded at age 3 in a chemical explosion, May already 

had set the world's speed record for downhill skiing by a blind individual. 

After his revolutionary transplant and stem-cell procedure in 2000, May, a 

Davis business executive, continued to be an inspiring figure and was the 

subject of the 2007 book "Crashing Through.". In recent days, though, the 

May family has faced perhaps its most formidable challenge as 

search-and-rescue teams continued to scour the unstable, snow-covered 

landscape around Sugar Bowl ski resort for 23-year-old Carson May. Carson, 

the older son of Mike and Jennifer May, has been missing since Thursday.

Authorities in Placer County said avalanche danger remained high Sunday as 

more than 40 searchers pressed on in their hunt for the lost ski instructor,

last seen Thursday afternoon when he was off-duty and skiing at the resort. 

A sighting of tracks leading into a recent snowslide area near Sugar Bowl 

led searchers back to the spot at dawn Sunday, and Placer County sheriff's 

Sgt. Dave Hunt said in the late afternoon they would press "until they are 

exhausted." After ending the search at 6:15 p.m., rescue crews were to 

resume the hunt early Monday morning. Searchers in bright red ski jackets 

boarded chairlifts Sunday alongside holiday weekend skiers as heavy, wet 

snow fell on the resort and icy winds whipped it sideways. Avalanche dogs 

aided in their efforts. Two helicopters were on standby Sunday to help in 

the search, but poor wind and weather conditions kept them grounded. Weather

is likely to be a continuing factor. More snow is expected to fall this week

in the region of the Sierra Nevada that includes Sugar Bowl as more storm 

systems move through, according to the National Weather Service. Forecaster 

Nathan Owen said 10 to 15 inches of snowfall is expected by Monday night, 

and another 4 to 8 inches through Wednesday morning. More systems are 

expected to arrive later in the week, he said, but "we don't have a grasp 

yet of the snow for those systems." Winds also are expected as the fronts 

pass through, Owen said.

John Monson, director of sales and marketing for Sugar Bowl, said May is an 

instructor with the resort's Mountain Sports Learning Center ski school, 

providing lessons to customers of varying ski levels. On Sunday, Lt. Troy 

Sander of the Placer County Sheriff's Office said the search team was homing

in on an area of a "large slide." Sander said another skier had reported 

seeing tracks leading into that avalanche area, which is in an out-of-bounds

section near the resort. The area also corresponds with "pings" authorities 

received earlier from May's cellphone, although communication has since 

ceased and searchers suspect the ski instructor's phone battery has died. 

Later Sunday, Sander said crews found evidence of a second slide in the 

area, creating a zone some 185 yards wide that had to be searched using 

probe sticks.

"You're talking about really steep terrain covered in four to six feet of 

snow," he said. "It's just really problematic for us to make a lot of good 

progress.". Sander did say authorities are "trying to remain optimistic he's

hunkered down somewhere."

May was last seen skiing at the resort Thursday afternoon. He failed to show

up for his ride home, and it was discovered Friday morning that he had not 

returned home during the night. Sheriff's officials said May's personal 

belongings were found in his locker at the resort. He was last seen wearing 

a blue Columbia jacket, bright green pants and a blue helmet. Hunt said May 

had been skiing at the resort Thursday with his younger brother, Wyndham, 

but the two became separated. Hunt said most chairlifts at the resort are 

equipped with cameras, and Carson May was photographed getting off one 

chairlift Thursday around 2 p.m. According to his habit, he would have skied

to the bottom of that slope, taken another lift up, then skied through some 

trees to return to his locker, according to Hunt. The second lift, however, 

did not have a camera and investigators cannot confirm that he actually 

boarded the second chairlift, Hunt said.

Authorities have been told May typically would ski Sugar Bowl slightly out 

of bounds through a tree line, and then come back inbounds and make his way 

down to the lodge, Sander said.

Hunt confirmed that family members had gathered at the resort but said they 

did not wish to speak with media.

Since Mike May's surgery and publication seven years later of "Crashing 

Through," by author Robert Kurson, the family's story has been featured in a

number of news stories and broadcast outlets. Skiing is a shared passion 

among family members. The brothers reportedly were members of their high 

school ski team in Davis. In a 2004 oral history interview by the American 

Foundation for the Blind, Mike May said that he met his future wife and 

mother of his two children while skiing. He said the couple started the boys

skiing when they were 2.

"And our boys are now excellent skiers, better skiers than we are," May said

in the interview, published online.

Marjie Lundstrom: 916-321-1055, @MarjieLundstrom

Becky Frankeberger

Butterfly Knitting

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becky at butterflyknitting.com <mailto:becky at butterflyknitting.com> 