Hoax or heartache: No sign of missing Florida teenager

After hunting straight through the night, exhausted crews searched the snowy hills near McClellan Peak in northeast Carson City for a second day Thursday, looking for a Florida man who claimed to be lost somewhere off Goni Road.

More than 40 volunteers on ATVs and snowmobiles, hikers and deputies on horses from the Carson City Sheriff's Department Mounted Unit trekked up the muddy inclines into deep snow searching for Brian Ponder, 19. Washoe County's RAVEN helicopter working in conjunction with Naval Air Station Fallon flew in patterned circles above.

Washoe County Search and Rescue joined Carson City Search and Rescue with the effort.

Ponder called police dispatchers six times Wednesday reporting his predicament. He said he had gone for a hike to take pictures of wildlife. His final call came around 6:05 p.m. according to Lt. Ken Sandage, when Ponder had told dispatchers, "I can't feel my feet at all. It's getting worse and worse and worse."

"We're throwing everything we've got at it," said Lt. Sandage, resolutely, from the makeshift command center at Goni Road and the entrance to the Cinderlite Pit.

But by mid-afternoon, the scent of suspicion was becoming stronger than any trail the lost man might have left. The search was called off at 4 p.m.

"What we have is a problem with credibility," said Sheriff Kenny Furlong. "On one hand, you don't want to see anybody lost up in the snow. But, as of yet, we haven't been able to verify one piece of information that leads us to believe that this is for real."

Furlong noted that the man claimed he didn't know his own cell phone number, and that the number that came up on police dispatch computers had a Los Angeles area code.

"He has given us known landmarks," said Lt. Sandage. "He's either really up there, or he's familiar with the territory and has been there before."

Mounted Unit volunteer Gene Castillo had been riding all morning. Like all of the volunteers, the Air Guardsman was working on personal time.

"It's pretty bad up there," he reported. "A couple of times, I was pushing snow with the horse's chest."

The initial call for help came at 11:56 a.m on Wednesday.

Search and Rescue crews arrived a couple hours later.

Ponder said he was visiting a friend by the name of John Engles who lives in Timberline, but later told authorities that Engles was in Newark, N.J.

"If this turns out to be a hoax," said Lt. Sandage. "It will be turned into a criminal investigation."

Though skepticism was out in the open, deputies and search teams seemed reluctant to call off the search, their instincts to save a life seemingly stronger than their urge to condemn one.

Veteran Mounted Unit volunteers Joe and Cathy Bruno rearranged their personal schedules, brought their horses and were ready to help.

"It's just part of the job," Cathy said.

Lt. Sandage was able to find a warm spark in the cold murk of the day.

"It has been a learning experience," he said, noting how well all of the different agencies involved responded and worked together.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Carson City Sheriff's Department at 887-2020, ext. 2500.

n Contact reporter Peter Thompson at pthompson@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1215.