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Snowboarder found dead in Lake Tahoe blizzard

Posted at 3:25 PM, Mar 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-02 18:25:20-05

A search and rescue team in the Sierra has found the body of a snowboarder who went missing in a blizzard at a Lake Tahoe ski resort.

The Placer County Sheriff's Office identified the victim Friday as 42-year-old Wenyu Zhang of Rocklin, California.

The sheriff's office says his body was located by Squaw Valley Ski Patrol members after friends reported him missing late Thursday night.

The search was suspended overnight due to high avalanche danger in the mountains where 3 feet of snow has fallen and winds were gusting to nearly 150 mph.

The sheriff's office said in a Facebook post that the search was aided by a tracking program that reads a computer chip or reflector that some manufacturers attach to clothing, boots or helmets.

The sheriff says Zhang was wearing a helmet when he was found at the resort south of Truckee, California. His cause of death has not been determined.