Search crews locate body of Renton man lost in avalanche
May 8, 2013, 8:09 AM | Updated: 9:47 am
King County search and rescue teams have found the body of a missing Renton man who disappeared in an avalanche near Snoqualmie Pass last month. (KIRO Radio/Tim Haeck)
(KIRO Radio/Tim Haeck)
King County search and rescue teams have found the body of a missing Renton man who disappeared in an avalanche near Snoqualmie Pass last month.
Mitch Hungate was swept down Granite Mountain with two friends on April 13. They traveled more than 1,200 feet in less than a minute.
The two other men walked out alive, but 61-year-old Hungate was covered in the snow. Recovery teams have had to wait for the snow to stabilize before searching for him.
King County Sheriff’s Sergeant Cindi West says they had a general idea where he was but were unable to find him until now.
“We certainly knew where the slide area was, and from my understanding he was about half way down the path that the avalanche took that day,” says West. “It was the snow melt that definitely helped us find him.”
West says it will take a few hours to get his body off the mountain.
