Avalanche in central Idaho kills man, injures woman
2/17/2014KETCHUM, Idaho — An avalanche in central Idaho buried four people, killing an Idaho man whose wife survived being buried under the snow for about 90 minutes.
The Blaine County Sheriff’s Office says the avalanche occurred shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday in the Smiley Creek area about 36 miles north of Ketchum.
Robert and Susan Swanton of Sutherlin, Ore., were able to extricate themselves and begin looking for George Martin Jr. of Bellevue, and his wife, Lesley.
The Swantons found Martin after about an hour, but they were unable to revive him. They couldn’t find an avalanche-beacon signal for Lesley Martin, so they rode a snowmobile to the highway to flag down help. Lesley Martin was taken to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia.