Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CEDAR FORT, Utah County — The Utah County Sheriff's Office located the body of a Highland man who was trapped in an avalanche in Pole Canyon, northwest of Cedar Fort, on Monday.
Two men had been snowmobiling in the area when one got caught and buried in the slide near Lewiston Peak, said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon.
Cannon said it was an "extremely large" avalanche in an open bowl area of the mountain. The witness, who was a family member of the victim, told rescuers the two had been riding from the Oquirrh Mountain side into the bowl, and were headed back up the mountain when the avalanche started.
The witness said he was able to turn to escape the path of the avalanche.
Brett Howard Warner, 38, was buried in over 22 feet of snow and was found dead just after 8 p.m. Monday, Cannon said. Crews later recovered Warner's body by digging out terraces in the snow to reach him.
Cannon said the avalanche occurred in an area at 8,000 feet in elevation and it traversed an estimated 1,500 feet. A Life Flight helicopter and Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter shuttled teams to the area to search for the rider.
