On January 2, two American nationals in their 30s lost their way while backcountry skiing in the village of Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture.

According to police, the two were skiing on a mountain slope at an altitude of about 1,300 meters in the Happosawa valley area when they became stranded.

On January 3, one of them—a 31-year-old man—managed to descend the mountain on his own, but the woman’s whereabouts were still unknown.

The man told the police that the woman disappeared after they were caught in an avalanche.

Police and other authorities are searching for the woman.

Hakuba is a ski resort village that served as one of the host sites for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.