Snowboarder dies at Mt. Hood Meadows

MOUNT HOOD, Ore. - A snowboarder who was reported missing at Mt. Hood Meadows on Monday was found dead about an hour later.

According to officials with Hood River County, 18-year-old Levi Krukowski of Portland was snowboarding with friends in the Heather Canyon area when he disappeared near an area marked as a hazard. The area was roped off.

His friends reported him missing and Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol set out to try to find him but within an hour, they discovered his body in a creek near the bottom of a waterfall after following tracks. Hood River County officials said the creek was within the hazard area and Krukowski would have had to cross the rope boundary to get there.

Investigators from the Hood River County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement estimate that Krukowski fell approximately 40 feet into a snow crevasse and landed in a creek that was running through the bottom. Krukowski's body was found partially submerged in the water.

Heather Canyon is designated double black diamond, the most advanced rating at Meadows, and is accessed through control gates, which were open on Monday. The canyon is wooded with cliffs, waterfalls, creek holes and other obstacles. There are boundaries that designate closed areas.

Krukowski's death is being investigated as an accidental one but an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday to determine the exact cause of death.

Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort officials released a statement Tuesday morning expressing their condolences to the family and friends of Krukowski.

"Our thoughts are with the family," Dave Tragethon, Director of Communications, said in the statement. "A tragedy such as this comes so unexpected. We hope that the knowledge gained by others from this misfortune will prevent such a tragedy in the future."