ELKO, Nev. (AP) - One snowmobiler is missing and presumed dead and another was seriously injured after an avalanche in the Ruby Mountains of eastern Nevada, authorities said.
Elko County officials said search and rescue crews had to suspend the recovery effort Saturday evening due to unstable snow conditions and limited visibility. The search resumed at dawn Sunday.
Authorities said three young men from the Elko area were snowmobiling near Castle Lake high in the mountains above Lamoille Canyon when the avalanche occurred shortly before noon Saturday.
County Undersheriff Justin Ames said one of the men was able to make it down and call for help.
Ames said a rescue crew from Ruby Mountain Heli-Ski helped bring the injured man to safety and he was flown to a Salt Lake City hospital for treatment.
The names of the three men in the incident weren’t immediately released, but Ames told the Elko Daily Free Press that he believed they all were in their late teens or early 20s.
The newspaper reported that avalanches are common in the Ruby Mountains, which is part of the Humboldt National Forest, but injuries are rare.
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