Missing Richmond skier found dead in Bear Valley resort

BEAR VALLEY, Calif. -- Alpine County sheriff's deputies today found the body of a Richmond man who went missing at a ski resort in March.

Tom Mullarkey, 65, was reported missing at about 11 p.m. on March 14. His wife Jane Drummond-Mullarkey said he had not returned to their cabin in Bear Valley Mountain Resort after a day of skiing.

RELATED: Family says missing Richmond man experienced skier, knows how to build snow cave

After several days of searching in heavy snowfall, avalanche danger and single-digit temperatures, sheriff's officials on March 19 limited the search to the resort's perimeter.

Mullarkey was known to be an advanced skier in good health, sheriff's officials said in March.

Rescue dogs trained to detect human scent alerted officials to a body in the Groovy Gully area. Searchers responded and found a ski pole and a ski protruding from the surface of the snow, sheriff's officials said.

RELATED: Family says missing Richmond man experienced skier, knows how to build snow cave

Searchers found Mullarkey's body just beneath the snow.

The sheriff's office expressed its condolences and thanked the man's family and friends for their patience during a painful and emotional time.

Click here for more stories, photos, and video on avalanches.