Tucker Challans Obituary, Death;- A teenager has tragically lost his life in Alaska after causing an avalanche on a mountain, according to officials. On Sunday, March 23, authorities identified the deceased as 16-year-old Tucker Challans, whose body was discovered in Turnagain Pass, situated south of Anchorage, Alaska, as confirmed by a press release from the Alaska State Troopers.
The Alaska State Troopers received a notification regarding a “fatal avalanche” on the mountain at approximately 2:34 p.m. local time on March 22. Eyewitnesses reported that the avalanche was triggered after they observed “a group” of individuals operating snow machines on the “backside of Seattle Ridge,” an area characterized as “unstable” and located northwest of the Seward Highway.
According to the press release from the Alaska State Troopers, “a juvenile male triggered an avalanche and died after being buried.” The Alaska Mountain Rescue Group successfully recovered the boy’s body, which was subsequently sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for identification.
Initially, the Alaska State Troopers did not disclose further details about the boy, other than that he was from Soldotna, Alaska, and that his family had been informed of his passing.
PEOPLE has contacted the Alaska State Troopers for further comments. Challans’ body was located approximately “10 feet deep,” with the “avalanche crown measuring 2 to 3 feet deep and around 500 feet wide,” as stated in a news release from the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center.
The release noted that “riders from several other groups in the vicinity responded promptly and were able to extricate the buried rider about one hour after the avalanche occurred, which is notably quick considering the depth of the burial.”
“Despite this commendable effort, the rider was unfortunately deceased by the time rescuers reached him in the debris,” the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center concluded. Wendy Wagner, director of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center, informed the Associated Press that the teenager likely triggered the avalanche by riding over a “weak layer” of snow that was concealed beneath the surface.
The post Tucker Challans Obituary, Death; 16-Year-Old Boy Dies After Triggering ‘Fatal Avalanche’ and Getting Buried in Snow ‘10 Feet Deep’ first appeared on Voxtrend News.
