Alaska News

Search resumes for body of man buried in avalanche

Amid continuing concerns about avalanches, Alaska State Troopers allowed a search for the body of 35-year-old Yancy Flair to resume in Johnson Pass on Thursday.

Snowmachiners, skiers and snowshoers are being asked to avoid the north Johnson Pass area while recovery efforts are under way.

The 35-year-old owner of two Anchorage tanning salons went missing after his snowmachine was caught by an avalanche on Saturday near the confluences of Divide and Center creeks on the Kenai Peninsula, an area of the Chugach National Forest east of the Johnson Pass Trail.

It was closed to snowmobiling when Flair was caught.

His body is believed to be buried beneath 20- to 25-feet of snow. A supply of 30-foot long probes had to be obtained to help searchers seek the body in the large field of avalanche rubble.

Initial recovery efforts were stalled by heavy snows, high winds and ash fall from Redoubt Volcano. Mountain snows in the area remain unstable and troopers said searching would not be allowed to begin until some bombs were dropped on sensitive areas to try to bring down potential avalanches today.

Because of the possibility these activities could bring down avalanches elsewhere than in the immediate vicinity of Divide and Center creeks, the agency was asking snowmachiners, skiers and snowshoers to avoid the north Johnson Pass area while recovery efforts are under way.

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"Active searching will be conducted today and tomorrow if needed before a predicted weather system arrives in the area and hampers search efforts," according to a trooper statement issued Thursday.

"It is imperative that no one is in or near the area during the recovery efforts. The area is still exhibiting a high avalanche potential, especially in the aftermath of additional snow and higher temperatures added to the steep terrain."

Troopers reported they have plenty of searchers from the Alaska Department of Transportation, the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group, the Nordic Ski Patrol, Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs, the Alaska Avalanche School, the Chugach National Forest Service, the Anchorage-business Alaska Snow Safaris and the American Red Cross. There appears to be no need for additional volunteers.

"AST's main concern is for the safety of those involved in the recovery efforts and is continually weighing this against our desires to bring closure to the family," the agency noted. "We never like leaving a body behind, but we also don't want to add to the number of families to console due to a death during recovery efforts."

Find Craig Medred online at adn.com/contact/cmedred.

By CRAIG MEDRED

cmedred@adn.com

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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