Snowboarder Improving, Eats 1st Meal

Fourteen-year-old snowboarder Jeff Thornton, who survived six days lost and dazed in the San Gabriel Mountains, ate his first meal in a week Saturday as doctors reported that his condition has improved.

“His vital signs are stable,” said Jean Palmer, spokeswoman for Foothill Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora. “He is in good spirits, and he has enjoyed his first meal.”

Palmer would not comment on Thornton’s frostbite, which doctors said Friday night caused “a lot of pain” to his hands and feet.

On Saturday morning, Thornton’s family stood by the intensive care unit where the boy remained. They declined to speak to the media, but issued a statement thanking search and rescue crews that scoured the rugged terrain.

They singled out Randy Katai and Art Fortini of the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team, who found Thornton on Friday after following his tracks through mud and snow for more than two hours.

“We are overjoyed that Jeff is safe and back with his family,” the statement said. “The commitment of everyone involved is a reaffirmation of all that is good in human beings.

“Jeff’s job now is to regain his strength, and he is in excellent care to do just that. Our job is to get on with the business of being a family,” the statement said.

Palmer said the family would not speak to the media for several days.

When Thornton’s mother and stepfather arrived at the hospital by helicopter Friday, they were greeted by a phalanx of television cameras and reporters who swarmed around them on their short walk to the emergency room.

The scene was frenzied, with photographers pushing one another to get an open shot of the parents. One man tripped as he jogged backward, slamming into the ground and breaking his camera lens.

“I just want to see my son,” said the stepfather, Billy Manness, as he was escorted by sheriff’s officials.

Rescuers found Thornton in an isolated canyon near Wrightwood, two miles below the New Mountain High ski resort. A week ago, he became separated from his uncle when he strayed into the trees on the backside of the slopes.

He was found sitting next to a creek wearing no gloves and a mud-caked wool sock on his left foot, his rescuers said.

Dr. Gurjett Kalkat said Thornton’s bootless foot suffered the most, but that the severity of his frostbite could not be determined for several days.

Doctors said Thornton’s youth and 215-pound build may have contributed to his survival. “If someone had increased fatty tissue, it would help him resist the cold,” said Dr. John Dimare, medical director of the hospital.

Thornton suffered no neurological damage from hypothermia, and his core body temperature was a surprisingly high 93 degrees, doctors said.