At 12:24 a group of snowboarders was on the high traverse of Northwest Mt. Baldy and watched the avalanche initiate; the crown face bisected the high traverse. The event occurred as they were crossing the slope but did not involve them. According to witness reports from near the starting zone, as the slide was in motion they spotted a person in the middle of the track who was hiking up the slope to retrieve a ski. Warnings were yelled, but when visibility returned, the slope was empty, the alarm was sounded to the ski patrol, and many public skiers and snowboarders in the area began a search for missing people.

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A hasty search team was immediately dispatched with dogs, beacons, and Recco. Probe teams were assembled and dispatched along with extra probes for the public on scene already searching. Due to approximately 150 people on site, their scattered equipment, and the resulting contamination of the deposition, the dogs had interest in numerous locations but were unable to locate the victim. The victim, a 27-year-old female, was the same person who had been seen hiking in the track. She was not equipped with a beacon or Recco and was located with a probe line at 58 minutes, 3’ deep.