Hi Michael, some posted this Hmmmm..... Gala Yuzawa is not very big, but sounds like he was in the newer area. If he delved into the trees, the patroller's sweep would not have picked him up there.
It's also snowed a lot in Yuzawa, so any tracks into the trees would have been covered up. It's also possible he's dropped off the cat track on the southern side of the intermediate area.
One other possibility is that he's attempted to go towards Ishiuchi Maruyama, which is off the back of Gala Yuzawa (and linked with the appropriate ticket), and has been unable to get back up to Gala Yuz