Minnesota Radio Station Owner & Minnesota Resident Among 3 Feared Dead in Alaska Avalanche

Girdwood, AK (KROC-AM News)- The owner of a cluster of Minnesota radio stations is among three feared dead in an Alaskan Avalanche. 

See Also: Driver Hospitalized After I-90 Crash During Minnesota Blizzard 

One of the missing people is from Minnesota. Two recent updates are referring to the operation as a recovery effort. 

A dispatch report issued by the Alaska Department of Public Safety says emergency responders were alerted to the avalanche shortly after 5 p.m. on Tuesday. 

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Southern Minnesota Radio Station Owner & Minnesota Resident Among Three Feared Dead After Alaska Avalanche

The avalanche occurred in the small mountainous town of Girdwood, which is about 40 miles southeast of Anchorage. Authorities say the three missing people were heliskiing when they got caught in a large avalanche around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon. 

Guides with the skiers were able to identify a probable area where the skiers could be buried and estimated they were trapped under 40-100 feet of snow, the report says. The guides were unsuccessful at finding the skiers. 

Due to diminishing daylight and further avalanche risk, the operation was paused on Tuesday evening. Poor weather conditions on Wednesday prevented officials from conducting flights to assess avalanche risks, according to the report. 

On Thursday morning, authorities identified the missing skiers as 38-year-old Jeremy Leif of Minnesota, 39-year-old David Linder of Florida, and 39-year-old Charles Eppard of Montana. Linder is one of the owners of Radio Mankato. 

As of Thursday morning, officials plan to conduct flights over the slide area to determine avalanche risk and map out possible recovery options, the report says.