All victims killed in avalanche near Lake Tahoe identified
All nine victims in the deadly avalanche near Lake Tahoe were identified after their bodies were recovered from the Castle Peak area on Saturday.
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said three of the victims were Blackbird Mountain Guides, identified as 34-year-old Andrew Alissandratos of Verdi, Nevada; 42-year-old Nicole Choo of South Lake Tahoe, California; and 30-year-old Michael Henry of Soda Springs, California.
Moon also confirmed the identities of the victims released by a spokesperson for the family earlier this week. Those victims were identified as Carrie Atkin of the Truckee-Tahoe region; Liz Clabaugh of Boise, Idaho; Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, and Kate Vitt, each from Marin County; and Caroline Sekar of San Francisco.
The bodies of five individuals were recovered on Friday evening when a helicopter flew into the snowy region. The remaining four were recovered Saturday morning, with authorities saying the victims were found relatively close to each other.
The incident commander, Nevada County Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Hack, detailed the recovery efforts, saying an initial report of the avalanche came in at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Authorities soon learned from survivors that they had recovered three victims.
The first search teams were able to make contact with the survivors until about 5:30 p.m., providing first aid and preparing an evacuation plan. The search teams also located the additional five victims.
Over the next 12 to 24 hours, Hack said crews determined avalanche mitigation was needed in order to recover the bodies safely.
Thursday brought more heavy snow to the area, halting aircraft operations and once again pausing recovery operations. However, Hack said they were used to improve routes into the area.
On Friday, officials said they used water to break up the snow in the area. This released unstable snowpack and reduced the risk for rescue crews. This allowed the recovery efforts begin, which were completed by Saturday morning.
The avalanche became the deadliest in the U.S. since an avalanche at Mt. Rainer killed 11 people in 1981.
