Owyhee County Sheriff: Search for missing man pauses for weather, then moves to recovery

Owyhee County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday evening that the search for the missing man, in the Owyhee Mountains, is suspended temporarily because of poor weather.

The 911 Coordinator for Owyhee County Sheriff's Office Christine Ballard said in a press release that the missing person search for 32-year-old Eric Rose has been paused.

Ballard added that, once the search starts back up again in the next few days, the focus will switch to one of recovery.

Family members said Eric, along with his wife, Francesca Watson, and their 10-month-old daughter were on their way to California, when they decided to turn back and got stuck in the snow.

They add that the couple was stranded for several days, before Eric decided to leave the area to get help.

A person on a snowmobile found Francesca and her daughter last Friday.

In the nearby town of Jordan Valley, residents said they believe that the mountain areas are almost always dangerous to travel on.

"The first thing they should know about going to the backcountry and the Owyhees or any place out in this area is that they shouldn't go," said resident, Mike Hanley. "That's probably the first thing because anybody could get caught out there. The experienced ones can get stranded too. Believe me, I know."

Family members spent part of Tuesday trying to get the couples vehicle out from the area, before the bad weather moves through.

Due to extreme conditions, the Owyhee County Sheriff's Office is requesting no additional help from the community in the search.

All roads to Silver City are closed to the public during the winter.

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