CEDAR FORK, Utah, March 28, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of a snowmobiler whose body was recovered Monday a few hours after he was trapped in an avalanche near Cedar Fork.
The 38-year-old victim, found under about 22 feet of snow, has been identified as Brett Howard Warner, of Highland.
The call came to dispatch just after 6 p.m., reporting “that a man was trapped in an avalanche in Pole Canyon west and a little north of Cedar Fort in Utah County,” a UCSO statement says.
“The Utah County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (SAR) team responded along with our fixed wing aircraft and helicopters with LifeFlight and the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS). Avalanche danger in this area was considerable, but rescuers were able to begin rescue efforts without unreasonable risk.”
A family member was snowmobiling with the victim at the time of the avalanche, the statement says.
“The witness told SAR team members they came from the Oquirrh mountain side and into the bowl area near the top of Pole Canyon. After riding down this area the witness said they turned and were headed back up the mountain when the avalanche started. The witness was able to turn out of the path of the avalanche but the victim was caught and buried in the slide.”
Both the victim and the witness were carrying backcountry avalanche safety equipment, which included beacons, probes, shovels, and airbags.
“Avalanche airbags are designed to be deployed by the wearer and make it less likely that they will be completely buried,” the UCSO statement says. “As the avalanche was coming down, the victim told the witness he deployed his airbag. But because of the volume of snow, the victim was carried away and was completely buried.”
The victim’s beacon helped first responders find the general area where the man was buried, and they began digging for him.
SAR team members were shuttled several miles to the scene by LifeFlight and DPS helicopters. When they got to the witness’s location they also began searching.
Crews used a recently developed tool to further narrow down the area of the victim’s beacon.
“Using two of these new probes rescuers were able to more quickly locate the victim under more than 22 feet of snow. Team members then began the laborious process of digging through 22 feet of very heavy snow. Rescuers had to create terraces as they dug down and moved snow from one terrace to the other and out of the hole.
“They located the snowmobile that was upside down, and then located the victim face down and underneath the snowmobile. At 8:19 PM they found that the victim was deceased.”
After further digging responders recovered the body of the victim and the DPS helicopter crew removed him from the mountain.
“SAR members experienced in back country activities said this is one of the most massive avalanches they’ve ever seen,” the Sheriff’s Department statement says.
“It triggered at or near the top of the mountain and came down 1,500 feet in elevation and covered a distance of more than half a mile. Estimates are that it is more than 30 feet deep at the bottom of the slide.”
