Authorities say two persons and their dog were killed in an avalanche in the Colorado mountains over the weekend while snowshoeing.
Searchers using an avalanche rescue dog discovered their remains and the body of their dog buried near Hoosier Pass in central Colorado on Sunday, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Hannah Nash, 25, and Drake Oversen, 35, both of Colorado Springs, were confirmed as the victims by Summit County Coroner Regan Wood on Monday.
Blunt force trauma and asphyxiation were reported as the causes of death. The rescue dog spotted the dead. Rescuers discovered a recent avalanche and a weak trace on a slope of North Star Mountain using information from relatives and friends, according to the avalanche center’s first report on the slide.
Previously, on Christmas Eve, a backcountry skier was killed in an avalanche near Cameron Pass in north-central Colorado.