The physique of one of three individuals presumed lifeless in a central Washington avalanche was recovered Friday, officers stated.
The sufferer was recognized as Seong Cho, 54, of West Hartford Connecticut, in line with the sheriff’s workplace. His physique was situated underneath a skinny layer of snow utilizing GPS coordinates offered by a surviving hiker, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Workplace stated.
Cho’s physique was turned over to the Chelan County Coroner’s Workplace for additional investigation, the sheriff’s workplace stated.
A Snohomish County sheriff’s helicopter was used for the restoration, the workplace stated.
The opposite two individuals presumed lifeless had been recognized earlier in the week as Jeannie Lee, 60, from Bayside New York, and Yun Park, 66, of Palisades Park New Jersey.
Cho, Lee and Park had been amongst six “backcountry vacationers” on Colchuck Peak, which is close to the Cascade Mountains village of Leavenworth about 120 miles east of downtown Seattle, in line with the Northwest Avalanche Heart.
The accident occurred about 1 p.m. Feb. 19 at 7,600 ft above sea stage, Chelan County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Reinfeld stated.
“It sounds just like the lead climber truly [caused the avalanche] by planting his ice ax [and he] triggered a slab that they had been on to slip,” Reinfeld stated. “The ice ax created a crack that allowed the slab to slip.”
Reinfeld stated that the incident was an accident and that the lead climber was to not be blamed.
“That’s one thing that occurs,” he stated. “You possibly can mitigate these dangers by figuring out avalanche circumstances and being conscious of what might set off it and the way hazardous circumstances are.”
The three victims slid about 500 ft and most probably “died from trauma,” not from being buried underneath snow, Reinfeld added.
The opposite survivors returned to Leavenworth, he stated. Situations Tuesday, together with gusts of as much as 60 mph, had been too harmful to launch a restoration effort for the three victims, authorities stated.
