Hundreds of people jammed the Carom Club in Downtown Albuquerque Sunday to raise funds to keep up the search for Michael George and Kyle Kerschen, 27-year-old friends from Albuquerque who went missing Jan. 4 on a snowboarding trip to Wolf Creek Ski Area in Colorado, the Albuquerque Journal reported this morning.

Money raised at the event will go toward hiring professional trackers with dogs to search for the men and to pay for a helicopter search, George's mother, Laura George, told the Journal.

Laura George said she realizes hope is dwindling that the two will be found alive, but said: "I can't rest until they're found and brought off that mountain ... It's just heartbreaking as a parent."

George and Kerschen were varsity athletes at Sandia High School, where George played football and Kerschen played soccer, according to this morning's profile in the Journal.

11:10am 1/17/08 UPDATE: The parents and families of missing Albuquerque snowboarders Michael George and Kyle Kerschen have issued a news release asking for contributions to help fund a continuing search for the 27-year-olds who have been missing since Jan. 4.

The only search crew now actively looking for the men -- now that the official state and local searches have been suspended due to lack of resources and persistently bad weather -- is the Wolf Creek Ski Patrol, according to the release.

"We have elected to hire private search and rescue professionals to aid the Wolf Creek Ski Patrol in the ground search," families said in the release.

To help fund a continuing search, contributions may be made to the Michael George-Kyle Kerschen Fund at any First Community Bank of New Mexico branch, the release said.

The family thanked Wolf Creek Ski Area operator Davey Pitcher and the ski patrol "for continuing this effort," and gave thanks to Govs. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Bill Ritter of Colorado, as well as volunteer search and rescue crews from both states, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, Colorado law enforcement and friends and family "for sharing their love and support so far." 

9:40am 1/17/08 -- Missing ABQ Snowboarders: Colo. sheriff says helicopter search could resume in two or three weeks.

While the search for two Albuquerque snowboarders who went missing from the Wolf Creek Ski Area on Jan. 4 was officially suspended last weekend, Mineral County (Colo.) Sheriff Fred Hosselkus told ABQjournal.com this morning that the Wolf Creek Ski Patrol will continue to look for the two 27-year-old men "until they're found."

And a helicopter search should be resumed "when the snow levels drop in a couple, two or three weeks," Hosselkus told us.

Meanwhile, the sheriff's department that coordinated a massive search of more than 34,000 acres in harsh weather conditions is continuing to conduct a missing-persons investigation for Michael George and Kyle Kerschen "on the outside chance they may have left the mountain," Hosselkus said.

"We're basically covering all possibilities ... we're still searching all avenues," said Hosselkus, who said he is in regular touch with the missing snowboarders' families.

"I call them and they call me," he said.

While it's not unusual for someone to go missing for a day or so in the mountains, Hosselkus said, "I don't think we've ever not found someone."

But given the snow and brutal weather conditions, the sheriff told us, "it's pretty fortunate we don't lose more people." 

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