Update Friday, Jan. 12, 8:30 p.m.
The Shoshone County Sheriff reports Friday afternoon they recovered the body of the man buried in an avalanche Thursday southwest of Lookout Pass.
In a social post late Friday night, the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office said they conducted a retrieval mission for the presumed deceased individual who had been caught in an avalanche.
The Shoshone County Sheriff worked closely with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office (providing air assets), Kootenai County Search and Rescue, Silver Valley Search and Rescue, Silver Mountain Ski Patrol, and Shoshone County Groomers.
They were able to extract the individual early Friday afternoon.
The deceased skier has been identified as Corey J. Zalewski. The two other skiers that were rescued Thursday night have been identified as Landon E. Crecelius, and David R. Sittser.
First Report
One person is believed to be dead and two people were rescued following an avalanche near Steven’s Peak, in Shoshone County, Idaho on Thursday, January 11, 2024.
The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office reports law enforcement received a Garmin GPS alert of a possible fatality shortly before 3 p.m.
A rescue effort was organized and communications through a GPS texting device helped officials find two of the people.
A targeted search was then launched and two of the people were found and brought back to receive medical care.
At that time, law enforcement “received information causing us to believe the third male was deceased at the site of the avalanche,” the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office reports in a social media post.
Search and rescue crews will attempt to retrieve the third person's body on Friday.
The names of those involved in the incident have not been released.
The United States Air Force, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Silver Valley Search and Rescue, and the Silver Mountain Ski Patrol assisted in the search.
