My bad, I don't do ski resorts; I don't do resorts at all.

Why did the resort personnel bother checking the parking lots at all? In the context of this "search", that seems to be a false negative. If a search means nothing, and you report the results as if they are significant and mean something, you may stop people from searching who should. In this case the "search of the resort parking lots for abandoned vehicles turned up nothing", which may have contributed to the SOS in the snow being disregarded.

That said, I agree that people in general need to take more responsibility for their own well being, staying found. But in this litigious society folks are always looking for a large group and deep pocket to blame. I don't see that ending any time soon.