Snowboarder reported missing at Lake Tahoe resort

2010-12-29 06:11:00 PST Tahoe City, CA 96145, United States — (12-29) 06:11 PST Tahoe City, Calif. (AP) --

Placer County authorities are searching for a woman who was reported missing while snowboarding at a Lake Tahoe ski resort.

Sheriff's officials say they dispatched search and rescue teams to Alpine Meadows Ski Resort around 4 p.m. Tuesday to look for 25-year-old Shawnte Marie Willis after Willis' boyfriend said she went missing. Willis apparently became separated from her friends while snowboarding earlier in the afternoon.

Alpine Meadows spokeswoman Rachel Woods tells the Sacramento Bee Willis, a guest at the resort, was last seen snowboarding through ski boundary signs near the top of an advanced slope accessible by chair lifts.

Sheriff's officials say rescuers are continuing the search Wednesday morning although the effort has been hampered by blizzard conditions.