The body of Samuel Failla, 24, was found in the same area his friend was rescued just a few hours earlier
A man lost his life after becoming lost in the woods while out backcountry skiing near Vail, Colorado.
Samuel Failla, 24, of New Jersey, was out skiing with a friend who was rescued by searchers after the pair became separated and got lost on Monday evening.
Failla was such an accomplished skier that he taught others how to enjoy the popular winter sport at Vail ski area but something went terribly wrong on Monday afternoon after he became disorientated.
The Vail Mountain Rescue Group and the Vail Ski Patrol found one of the men and brought him to safety, but he didn’t tell crews that his friend, Failla, was still missing because he wrongly assumed that he had already reached safety and made it back home.
Failla, 24, of New Jersey, right. was out skiing with a friend who was rescued by searchers after the pair became separated and got lost on Monday evening.
Failla was a snowboarding instructor at the Vail ski resort for the winter season
Failla was found dead Tuesday morning a day after his skiing partner who was rescued failed to tell his crews he’d been skiing with someone else
Tragically, his body was found in the same areas where the pair had originally gone missing.
The surviving skier managed to report to authorities that he had fallen off of a trail and had spent several hours trying to hike out.
At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the man who had been rescued and who hasn’t yet been named called the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office to report that Failla still hadn’t shown up.
When search and rescue crews returned to the same area they combed Monday, they found Failla’s body.
The Eagle County coroners’ office is working to determine the cause of death.
Failla was originally from New Jersey, where he attended Chatham High School.
He excelled in both academics and athletics, participating in the National Honors Society while also playing football well enough to have been cited as one of his state’s ‘football heroes’ back in 2011.
Glowing tributes were paid to Failla online for his expertise in winter sports and who had taught and encouraged so many youngsters to become involved
He landed a job as a ski instructor at Vail in November 2016 and stayed with the gig through April 2017 and was doing something similar this season.
A GoFundMe page has been launched on his behalf to help the family with funeral expenses and to create a foundation for under privileged kids to play the sports they love.
Friends remembered Failla on social media as a happy, supportive friend, gone too soon.
‘So unbelievably heartbreaking. Sam was a fantastic kid who was loved by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him,’ a friend from Chatham wrote.
Another echoed that sentiment, writing, ‘One of the happiest and most genuine people I had the pleasure of knowing and living with for three years. Love you so much, Sammy. Rest easy, bud.’