Alaska News

Snowmachiner killed in Kenai Peninsula avalanche

A 29-year-old snowmachiner was killed in an avalanche on the Kenai Peninsula Saturday afternoon, the Alaska State Troopers reported.

Search and rescue personnel were called to a spot about 2 miles from the Snug Harbor Road trail access in Cooper Landing, a popular snowmachining area, around 3 p.m. Saturday, troopers said in an online dispatch.

"Bryant Evans reported that he and his friend Tyler Kloos were on snowmobiles when he witnessed an avalanche cover Kloos," the dispatch said.

Both men were wearing avalanche beacons, and Evans was able to find Kloos and dig him out. Other people in the area at the time assisted, and CPR was performed on Kloos, the dispatch said.

A LifeMed helicopter took Kloos to a Soldotna area hospital, where he was declared dead.

The dispatch did not say where Kloos lived, but public records show recent addresses in Kenai and Kalisof.

His family has been notified, troopers said.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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