Man found dead in East Vail apparently not Avy related

**Hacksaw** · 02-07-2018, 09:14 AM

https://www.vaildaily.com/news/man-f...ed-he-got-out/

**Ottime** · 02-07-2018, 09:23 AM

That sounds so fishy.

**Kinnikinnick** · 02-07-2018, 09:31 AM

Weird one.

Hard to believe that you wouldn’t mention it during the rescue or at the very least once back off the trail and the buddy was missing.

Was there a life insurance policy?

Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

**smartyiak** · 02-07-2018, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by Kinnikinnick

Weird one...
Was there a life insurance policy?
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Business partners, perhaps? I mean: former business partners.

**smartyiak** · 02-07-2018, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by mbillie1

I dunno, if they're both in way over their heads (which may well be the case...) the one guy falls, gets hurt, calls and is so concerned with his own survival it doesn't occur to him his friend is missing?

I can see it being just survival/panic in an unknown situation and not thinking until much later that your buddy is still out there. Hard to say w/limited information etc etc

Could be, but, when rescued, wouldn't you say: My buddy and took this route, I got hurt, he took off, so I got scared and called.

I'd just think the natural flow of conversation would include the phrase "my friend and I" somewhere in the discussion.

**t-the-east** · 02-07-2018, 09:54 AM

So the guy got back home or to the hotel or whatever Monday afternoon/evening and didn’t report his buddy missing until 930 Tuesday morning? Dude even slept in before reporting? That is definitely fishy.

**Hacksaw** · 02-07-2018, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by t-the-east

So the guy got back home or to the hotel or whatever Monday afternoon/evening and didn’t report his buddy missing until 930 Tuesday morning? Dude even slept in before reporting? That is definitely fishy.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see what sort of investigation happens.....

**old goat** · 02-07-2018, 12:19 PM

Some friend.

**flatlander#2** · 02-07-2018, 12:41 PM

The SR people never asked was there anybody else with you? At any point?

jgb@etree · 02-07-2018, 12:53 PM

I agree with those thinking it's crazy that the guys partner didn't notify anyone, but we had something similar happen around here last fall. Fortunately both survived.

Man found at Penfield Lighthouse said he swam from fatal reef

FAIRFIELD — Two men from Brewster, N.Y. tell firefighters they survived a riptide Wednesday night on the dangerous Penfield Reef.

The men, both in their 40s, told officials that they carpooled to Fairfield to fish, and waded out along the reef around 7 p.m. Wednesday and fished until around 11 p.m. until high tide overran their position and washed them into Long Island Sound.

Rescuers found the first man around 7 a.m. Thursday at the Penfield Lighthouse, which sits a mile from the shore and about a quarter mile from the submerged reef. He wasn’t wearing any fishing gear — which officials credited for allowing him to swim from the reef.

Thick fog had separated him from his fishing companion, the man told firefighters.

The U.S. Coast Guard took command of the search for a short time, until it was discovered that the second man was at home. He told them he swam back to shore and returned home in a taxi.

Fairfield Fire Department Chief Roger Caisse said those at the scene this morning were a surprised the second man had left the area without reaching out to emergency responders about the other man possibly needing to be rescued. He said the two individuals are acquaintances, but that they did not know each other too well.

“The individuals involved in this case were extremely fortunate to escape harm. Fishing off Penfield Reef, especially in darkness and fog, can be exceptionally hazardous,” Caisse said. “Personal protective equipment such as flotation, signaling devices, and notifying others of your fishing plan can make the difference in survival when conditions turn bad.”

Caisse said, as of this morning, the police department had opened an investigation into the incident.

In August, two fisherman were killed after water swept them into the Sound.

In July, a boat sank after it hit rocks near the lighthouse. No one was injured.

The names of the men involved in the latest incident have not been released.

Fairfield Police are investigating lingering questions in the case, such as why the man who made it to shore didn’t report his acquaintance missing.

“To our knowledge, he made no attempt,” Caisse said.

**ASmileyFace** · 02-07-2018, 01:21 PM

My post from another thread.

Originally Posted by old goat

You sure about that?
https://www.vaildaily.com/news/man-f...ed-he-got-out/

The man with whom Failla was in the East Vail backcountry called 911 Monday night when he fell off a trail and hiked for several hours trying to work his way out. Tuesday morning after Failla did not show up, the man told the Eagle County Sheriff's Office that he had not reported Failla missing because he had assumed Failla had made it out on his own.

What the fuck? He just assumed his BC partner went home when he had to hike out of East Vail?! What is that bullshit. And then he didn't even report him missing till the next day?! Was this dude high as fuck? This is gross negligence at best and shady as fuck at worst.

**summit** · 02-07-2018, 01:30 PM

WTF? Fish as fuck!

**Skistack** · 02-07-2018, 02:52 PM

Homoerotic asphyxiation.

**GoldMember** · 02-07-2018, 03:15 PM

I would think one of the first things SAR would have asked would be whether he was alone or if anyone else was available to help. Yep, this story is to be continued...

**Elkhound Odin** · 02-07-2018, 03:30 PM

We these guys really "partners", or just a couple guys that went through the gate together and sort of skied the same descent?

**MakersTeleMark** · 02-07-2018, 03:37 PM

I think this goes in the ultimate signs you are a flatlander thread.

I don't think anything is fishy at all. Just a supreme case of cluelessness.

Certainly not business/money related. They are trying to raise funds to transport his body back home to Jersey.

**Hott Butt Mud** · 02-07-2018, 08:41 PM

Agreed on the clueless theory. Sad.

**Shredhead** · 02-07-2018, 09:02 PM

Yep. Pick your partners wisely.

**Whiteroom_Guardian** · 02-08-2018, 07:56 AM

Originally Posted by Elkhound Odin

We these guys really "partners", or just a couple guys that went through the gate together and sort of skied the same descent?

I am leaning towards this. They may have been acquaintances simply because they worked at the same mountain(?...didn't say what the survivor did, etc...speculating here), but there are a ton of employees there. Almost every time I skied East Vail there was always some random kid up there walking through the gate with no gear and no idea where they were going. I bet these two walked up there sort of together and dropped in around the same time, but that was the extent of their connection to each other.

**fantastic_damage** · 02-08-2018, 08:44 AM

I'm thinking these are 2 guys that maybe kind of knew each other and one or both of them decided: hey wanna take the mongolia t-bar up and then hit east vail chutes back into town? OK let's do it. Perhaps the guy who got hurt was doing this area for the first time and just assumed the other guy made it out as he was more experienced with the area.

Sent from my SM-G935V using TGR Forums mobile app

**papapoopski** · 02-08-2018, 10:04 AM

taking "no friends on a powder day" a bit too literally

So the guy calls 911 on Monday night but reports friend missing Tuesday. Maybe he thinks he's got things covered with the initial phone call.

The guy who was found made the initial phone call after falling off trail. Did Failla (the dead guy) keep going and ditch his buddy first?

**Hacksaw** · 02-08-2018, 10:34 AM

Maybe the guy thought they would be "charged $$$ for the rescue" and that's why he didn't tell S&R about his buddy. Or maybe he thought that they were "in trouble" for being out in TEVC....

**billyk** · 02-08-2018, 10:49 AM

I can see this going either way. Too much depends on information that hasn’t been released yet. How, exactly, did the guy die? Was there evidence of other skiers tracks near the body, or was it apparent that the skier was by himself when he died?

I’d say it is either a huge coincidence, or maybe an attempt to coverup an accident. But I could see that if you were in an accident yourself (“fell off a trail”) and focused on your own struggle for survival, you might not think your “partner” was in trouble.

So, I guess, just wait and see when the facts are made public.

**cmcrawfo** · 02-08-2018, 10:53 AM

This is why I only travel in the B/C with people I trust.

I have actually heard people say "who cares where he is, I don't know the guy"... in relation to random parking lot/ trailhead add on to the group, who is now missing.

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 02-08-2018, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by cmcrawfo

This is why I only travel in the B/C with people I trust.

I have actually heard people say "who cares where he is, I don't know the guy"... in relation to random parking lot/ trailhead add on to the group, who is now missing.

I've had people ask to tag along in the 'backcountry' areas on the fringe of our hill. I usually ask if they're familiar with the area and if they're not I'll say yes. I always make sure they get back to the piste or in sight of the lot. I've also chatted people up who seem unfamiliar with the area. A couple weeks ago I stopped a snowboarder and a dude on ski blades from dropping into the next drainage east of here, they would have wound up 20 miles from the ski area. I just told them to follow my tracks as I was the first person in that area that day and there was fresh snow.

I never go ski touring in real backcountry with people I don't know and trust.