A pair of snowboarders spent the night in a snow cave in Eagle County after sending a text message to a friend stating they were lost, authorities said today.
Christin Morton, 25, of Silverthorne and Ben Engelsen, 25, of Hampton, Va., were found on a ridge 3.5 miles north of Wildridge this morning, according to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Department.
They had planned to ride snowboards down with a friend Tuesday afternoon, but failed to meet the friend at Wildridge as planned. As a result, he called authorities for help at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The friend received a text message about 10 p.m. from the pair saying they were OK and had built a fire and snow cave. They then called 9-1-1.
Crews continued to search until 1:30 a.m., before calling off the effort for the evening, since Morton and Engelsen said by phone that they were OK, according to a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
The pair was located at about 8:15 a.m. today.
