Two snowshoers and their dog were killed in an avalanche near North Star Mountain, northwest of Hoosier Pass on Saturday, Jan. 8, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Deputies from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, volunteers with the Summit County Rescue Group and Flight for Life began searching areas west of Hoosier Pass after the pair were reported overdue at about 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 9.

Their car was found in the parking area at the top of Hoosier Pass, and searchers found what they thought were snowshoe tracks in the area of a recent avalanche.

At about 2 p.m., an avalanche rescue dog found both snowshoers and their dog buried by avalanche debris.

The slide broke about 10 feet deep, 400 feet wide and ran about 250 vertical feet, according to the avalanche center’s preliminary report.

The avalanche danger in the Summit County zone was rated considerable (3 out of 5) at the time of the slide, and the center had warned in recent days that slides could be triggered remotely.

Avalanche center investigators will visit the site Monday, Jan. 10, and expect to release a full report later this week.

The identities of the people who were killed are being withheld pending notification of their families.

The deaths are the second and third of this avalanche season in Colorado after a skier was killed Dec. 24, 2021, on Cameron Pass.