A helicopter searched the Sierra range southeast of Lake Tahoe for space shuttle debris Friday without success after a Gardnerville Ranchos teenager reported he had seen something glowing fall from the sky about the time of last week's crash.
The search is expected to resume next week.
Lucas Schmersey, 17, son of Nancy Schmersey, spotted a glowing object on Jobs Peak on Feb. 1 hours after the Columbia space shuttle began breaking apart. He told authorities it continued to glow once it appeared to land in the snow about 15 miles southwest of Gardnerville
The teen said he could see the object, which he estimated to be 2-feet by 2-feet and glowing orange, with his binoculars. He did not report the sighting to local authorities until late Thursday, Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Lance Modispacher said.
"He called our officer... and reported this. Our officers could see something there, but they are not quite sure what it is. They see what he is looking at," Modispacher said.
Sheriff's Deputy Ron Elges questioned the youth and contacted NASA officials seeking debris from the Columbia space shuttle.
Two NASA employees, joined by four crew members from the 129th Rescue Squadron of the California Air National Guard from the San Francisco Bay Area, met with young Schmersey at the Minden-Tahoe Airport. The search ended at nightfall Friday without any discovery of shuttle material on the snow-covered mountainside.
Helicopter pilot Nando Solo from the Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, Calif., said the rough terrain at an elevation of about 10,000 feet would make it difficult to land.
If the object is determined to be a piece of the shuttle, Polo said, the Air National Guard will be back next week for recovery.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board began gathering material collected so far since Columbia's breakup during re-entry just 16 minutes before landing on Feb. 1. Seven astronauts on board died in the accident, which is still under investigation.
Elges and the helicopter crew took off from the airport just after 4 p.m. Friday.
Polo said shapes and black objects stand out, so if there is something to Schmersey's sighting, they would be able to see it.
A spokesman from the Kennedy Space Center in Houston said there have been no other reports of possible debris in Nevada.
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