Snowmobiles Cause Deadly Avalanche

Sun., March 9, 1997

From Staff And Wire Reports

A 30-year-old man was buried by an avalanche that was triggered by his friends as they were snowmobiling in the southwest corner of Boundary County Saturday.

The snowdrift - 10 feet deep in places, a quarter-mile in diameter - also buried two snowmobiles. The avalanche happened in the Echo Bowl area, just north of the Bonner County line and Priest Lake.

The victim was snowmobiling inside the bowl; his friends were riding above. Their machines triggered the snow slide, deputies reported.

The victim’s name was not released.

Rescue crews in Bonner County got word of the accident at 12:40 p.m. By 4:09 p.m., Bonner deputies figured out that the avalanche actually happened in nearby Boundary County.

The search was called off Saturday evening. Rescuers will start the search again early today. , DataTimes

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