Search and rescue team recovers body of snowmobiler killed in avalanche

CEDAR FORT, Utah — The body of the snowmobiler killed by an avalanche in Pole Canyon on Monday has been recovered by a search and rescue crew.

The 38-year-old snowmobiler, identified as Brett Howard Warner of Highland, got caught in an avalanche after initially coming over the Tooele side of the mountain in a small group.

Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said the man and a companion were snowmobiling when the cloud of snow started coming down on them.

Cannon said that both the victim and the person he was with were experienced in backcountry recreating.

Both of them even had all the recommended safety equipment but the sheer amount of snow was just too much to overcome.

“The deposit of snow at the bottom, they’re estimating, is in excess of 30 feet deep and where he was found, he was found 22 feet below the surface,” Cannon said.

According to Cannon, Warner was wearing a beacon and had all the recommended safety equipment. But it wasn’t enough in this case.

“Safety equipment is there and we always recommend having that. But when you have this amount of snow, Mother Nature doesn’t care what your safety equipment is,” Cannon said.

But, Cannon added, had Warner not been wearing a beacon with all the snow that’s fallen, crews may not have found his body for months

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