South Dakota man killed in avalanche

SARATOGA (WNE) — A 58-year-old South Dakota man is dead following an avalanche in the Encampment River Wilderness on March 12.
At approximately 1:02 p.m., the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) received a call from Roy Simonson of Rapid City, South Dakota. Simonson reported himself and Jon P. LaFramboise, also of Rapid City, had been caught in an avalanche while snowmobiling near Hog Park in the Sierra Madre mountain range. He also reported he had performed CPR on LaFramboise, but couldn’t find a pulse and noted LaFramboise still wasn’t breathing.
CCSO Deputy Patrick Patterson responded to the call and activated search and rescue units from Saratoga, Ryan Park and Encampment. Patterson also requested the Saratoga search members bring the snowcat for the call. Four members of search and rescue were on snowmobiles with two members and Patterson in the snowcat.
Due to the location given by Simonson, the search team was unable to reach the party. Eventually, Patterson requested Classic Air fly over the area to determine the location of the avalanche and how to reach the missing party.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., Classic Air departed from Rawlins and arrived at the scene 30 minutes later. The flight crew located the missing snowmobilers, located two snowmobile riders with search and rescue and guided them to the scene. The search and rescue team was able to locate the avalanche and Simonson and LaFramboise at 5:30 p.m.
 
This story was published on March 17.