Missing skier, 13, found dead

LA GRANDE — A 13-year-old-boy who became lost Saturday during a cross-country ski outing in the Horseshoe Prairie Nordic Area was found dead Monday morning.

Union County Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen said the body of Nathan Cain was discovered by searchers on snowmobiles about 11:40 a.m.

“He was found about a mile and three quarters from the point where he was last seen,” Rasmussen said.

Nathan, of College Place, Wash., was skiing with his father and adult friends Sunday when he became separated from the group near the Andies Prairie Sno-Park.

Union County 9-1-1 received a report that the boy was missing about 5 p.m. The Sheriff’s Office and Union County Search and Rescue were mobilized. Searchers from Baker and Umatilla Counties joined in as a well.

Rasmussen said many snowmobilers and cross-country skiers also aided in the search. In all, about 80 people joined in.

“It was a great turnout of volunteers. It takes a lot of manpower to do a search like this,” Rasmussen said.

The sheriff said that a medical examiner will determine cause of death. Overnight temperatures in the Horseshoe Prairie area were reported to be in the 20s.

The boy was a seventh-grader at Rogers Adventist School in College Place.