Two rescued after avalanche near Stevens Peak

A search and rescue mission for three males was undertaken Thursday, Jan. 11, after law enforcement received a Garmin global positioning system alert of a possible fatality due to an avalanche near Stevens Peak, a social media release from the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office said.

The SOS call had come in just before 3 p.m. and the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the United States Air Force, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Silver Valley Search and Rescue, and Silver Mountain Ski Patrol as search efforts were undertaken. 

A high risk avalanche warning had been issued by the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center on Tuesday through Thursday, but the agency had added onto the initial avalanche warning that although the Silver Valley was not meeting criteria for high avalanche danger after the advisory was lifted, that the possibility of avalanches remained a risk if traveling in higher elevations.

The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office reported that they were able to establish communications with two of the individuals through the GPS texting device and locate two of the three missing individuals. A targeted search was conducted near their last known location. 

Two of the individuals were located and then were brought in to receive medical care. 

While debriefing the two males, first responders received information indicating that the third male may be deceased at the site of the avalanche. 

Search efforts were then concluded for the safety of all those involved. 

A retrieval mission is planned to be conducted Friday, Jan. 12.

The names of the individuals who were caught in the avalanche are not being released at this time.