1 man presumed dead, 2 rescued after avalanche hits Idaho mountain, authorities say
Two men were rescued and one man is believed to be dead after an avalanche swept through a mountain on Idaho's panhandle on Thursday.
The avalanche happened near Stevens Peak in Shoshone County, Idaho, located in the state's northern panhandle near the Montana and Washington borders and about 100 miles from Spokane, Washington.
The Idaho avalanche follows Wednesday's avalanche at a ski resort near Lake Tahoe, California, which killed one man and injured three others.
According to a statement from the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, a rescue effort was organized to find three men they believed were caught by the avalanche, with help from the U.S. Air Force, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Silver Valley Search and Rescue and the Silver Mountain Ski Patrol.
Law enforcement received a GPS alert from a Garmin device just before 3 p.m. Thursday about a possible fatality near Stevens Peak.
Rescuers were able to establish communication with two of the men through a GPS texting device, and started a search near their last known location. They were eventually located, and brought back for medical care, according to law enforcement.
Rescuers ended search efforts on Thursday evening for safety reasons.
They plan to conduct a "retrieval mission" for the third man Friday morning.
The Shoshone County Sheriff's Office declined to release identities of the men in the statement posted early Friday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Idaho avalanche: 1 man presumed dead, 2 rescued near Stevens Peak
