Deadly avalanche claims 2 snowmobilers in Washington state backcountry, 2 rescued

Officials in Washington state announced Saturday that two men were killed last week when an avalanche struck a group of four snowmobilers.

The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office reported that the avalanche occurred Friday afternoon in a remote area near Longs Pass, a popular hiking spot in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

"On Friday, January 9, at about 4:00 p.m., four men recreating in the backcountry snow near Longs Pass in the mountains of northern Kittitas County were caught in an avalanche," the office said. 

Authorities identified the deceased men as 38-year-old Paul Markoff, of North Bend, and 43-year-old Erik Henne, of Snoqualmie Pass. Kittitas County officials told Fox News Digital on Sunday that one of the deceased was partially buried by the avalanche, and his surviving companions tried to dig him out. The other man was found about four feet deep in snow by a K9 unit, the office said.

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