A father snowmobiling with his son and a young girl were killed in separate avalanches in Utah, the latest avalanche deaths as recent storms have brought heavy snow and unstable backcountry terrain to mountains in western states.
The deaths happened on Feb. 18 and 19 while two different families were engaging in winter recreation activities, according to local authorities and news outlets. They happened in the immediate aftermath of the deadliest avalanche in decades in the United States, which happened on Feb. 17 in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, killing eight backcountry skiers with another missing and presumed dead.
On Feb. 18, a man and his minor son were snowmobiling in the area of Snake Creek near Midway, Utah, in Wasatch County, which is about 50 miles from Salt Lake City. An avalanche at about 4 p.m. buried the father, according to the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office. The son used an avalanche beacon to find his father and dig him out of the snow, but the man was already dead, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office in a statement praised the son's "courageous efforts" in trying to rescue the man.
"The Wasatch County Sheriff's Office extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and all those affected by this tragic incident," the statement read.
