The body of a skier who was caught in an avalanche in the Alaska backcountry seven months ago has been recovered, authorities said Tuesday. Two other men remain missing.
David Linder, 39, Charles Eppard, 39, and Jeremy Leif, 38, were heli-skiing near Girdwood on March 4 when they were caught in a large avalanche. Heli-skiing is off-trail or downhill skiing in which skiers reach the top of the mountain by helicopter, instead of a ski lift.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety said at the time that the men were believed to be buried 40 to 100 feet deep and that it did not “believe that any of the three missing persons survived.”
Authorities said the recovered body was found in a logjam in the river flowing underneath the avalanche slide area. His name has not been released. The department said the remains were taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for identification.
A search for the skiers was launched after the avalanche, but poor weather hindered recovery efforts. In a March 5 update, the department said troopers, experts and recovery teams could not assess the slide area and were hoping for better weather.
The department said in a March 7 update that the bodies were believed to be in a “challenging location” and that recovery efforts were not possible because of safety concerns and would have to wait until conditions improved.
“We know that this is not the solution that the loved ones of these men were looking for today; however, it is the safest path forward for everyone involved,” the department said.
On Friday, volunteers with the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and the Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department returned to the slide area on a helicopter and recovered the remains of one skier.
Additional operations are scheduled to search for and recover the two others, the department said.
The Public Safety Department and the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
