3 Men Killed In Weekend Avalanches In Montana

Search Dog Finds Avalanche Victim In Montana, 1 Of 3 Men Killed In Weekend Snow Slides

(AP)  A search dog helped rescuers find the body of a man who was buried by an avalanche, one of three men killed by snow slides in Montana during the weekend.

The man's body was found Sunday under 3 feet of snow, his rescue beacon accidentally turned off, the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center reported. The site was near Cooke City in south-central Montana.

In southwest Montana, a 50-year-old man died in a small avalanche in Madison County, and a 21-year-old died in an avalanche on Mount Jefferson in Beaverhead County.

All three accidents happened Saturday.

Authorities identified the victim found Sunday as Travis Engstrom, 35, of Bozeman. He had been riding with friends when his sled got stuck, and the avalanche was triggered as he worked to free it, the avalanche center reported.

In Madison County, Sheriff Dave Schenk said a group of 15 snowmobilers had gone "pleasure riding" but during a stop they realized one member of the group was missing.

"When they came back they could look across the ravine in an area where they saw a small avalanche had occurred," Schenk said. They dug out Kirk Hewitt, 50, of Belgrade but were unable to revive him.

The third man died when he and two companions were engaged in "high-marking," or riding up the side of a mountain to see how high they could go before having to turn around, authorities said. He was identified as Joshua J. Jenkins, 21, of Idaho Falls, Idaho.