Coroner identifies young snowmobiler killed in avalanche near Island Park
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ISLAND PARK — The name of the man who died in an avalanche Sunday near Island Park has been released.
Clark County Coroner Brenda Laird identified the man as Landon Fox, 21, of Minnesota.
The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center posted on Facebook Sunday night that the incident occurred north of the Keg Springs in the Centennial Mountains.
RELATED | Update: 1 dead, 3 rescued in avalanche near Island Park
Clark County Sheriff Mark McClure said Fox was in a group of four, and the other three were also caught in the avalanche but survived with minor injuries.
McClure says Fox’s snowmobile became stuck on the side of the hill. Another person from his group tried to reach him by coming down from the top side of the hill, accidentally triggering the avalanche.
“We send our sympathies to the family, and want to thank the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Search and Rescue, as well as Fremont County, who partnered with us in the recovery,” says McClure.
According to McClure, the avalanche was fairly small, about 50 meters wide, with about 1 foot of snow that slid down the mountain. But even small avalanches can be extremely dangerous.
McClure says if you plan on recreating in the area, you should check the avalanche reports before you go and make sure you are prepared in case of an emergency.
Click here to see the current avalanche reports for Island Park.
“(The area) is pretty well known for avalanches when the conditions are right,” McClure says. (People) need to be making sure that they’re checking avalanche conditions prior to actually going out on snow machines back in the backcountry.”
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