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SALT LAKE CITY — Search and rescue crews recovered the body of a Monticello man Saturday who was caught in an avalanche in the La Sal Mountains in San Juan County.
Scott Pehrson Jr., 39, was trapped in the slide while snowmobiling in Dark Canyon Basin about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, according to the San Juan County Record. The San Juan County Sheriff's Office posted the Record's story on its Facebook page.
Pehrson, a married father of four, was with a group of eight Monticello-area residents snowmobiling in the area. Officials estimated the snow in the slide was 65 feet deep, according to the Record.
The group searched for Pehrson until dark Friday but were not able to find him. They were able locate his destroyed snowmobile and a damaged helmet, the Record reported.
Volunteers and helicopter crews from Classic Air, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, Powderbird and the Utah Department of Public Service renewed the search Saturday morning, according to the Record. One crew purposefully triggered another avalanche to make the area safe for searchers on the ground.
About 65 residents from San Juan and Grand counties helped with the search on the ground, including three dozen snow machines.
The DPS helicopter detected a signal from Pehrson’s avalanche beacon, the Record reported.
Pehrson's body was found about 6 feet under the surface, "quite a bit upstream from where the snowmobile was recovered," according to San Juan County Sheriff Jason Torgerson.
