MISSOULA – Two snowmobilers reported missing after an avalanche in northwestern Montana were found buried in the slide and pronounced dead Wednesday night.
Earlier in the day, a snowmobiler called 911 to report that he was caught in an avalanche in the Dinah Lake area but managed to get out but that two other people were buried in the slide, the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office said. Search and rescue crews and dogs who then began looking for the missing two snowmobilers battled winds up to 60 mph, the Missoulian reported.
The man who survived the avalanche was brought out with search crews and did not need medical assistance, the sheriff’s office said.
The names of the snowmobilers will not be released until all their family members have been notified, sheriff’s spokeswoman Brenda Bassett said. It is not clear where the snowmobilers are from.