Couple killed in central Oregon avalanche

Officers on Wednesday recognized a pair killed in an avalanche in central Oregon.

Terance Olaf Skjersaa, 57, and Susan Renee Skjersaa, 52, had been from Bend, Oregon, about 140 miles east of Eugene, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Workplace stated.

The sheriff’s workplace stated it responded Monday to stories of backcountry skiers who had been buried beneath the snow in an avalanche in an space identified generally as “Joyful Valley.”

Pals reported the couple lacking and started trying to find them Monday night time, after they’d didn’t return from their outing, the sheriff’s workplace stated. Simply earlier than midnight, associates discovered the couple buried in snow. Each had been useless.

The sheriff’s workplace stated the avalanche most definitely occurred a number of hours earlier than the couple was discovered.

Each our bodies had been recovered by search-and-rescue groups deployed by the sheriff’s workplace, who additionally investigated the scene.

“I’m deeply saddened by the tragic lack of the couple who misplaced their lives within the avalanche whereas having fun with the Central Oregon backcountry,” Sheriff Kent van der Kamp stated in an announcement Tuesday. “Their lengthy historical past in our neighborhood and the lives they touched are a testomony to the spirit and resilience that make Central Oregon such a particular place to stay.”

The sheriff’s workplace warned that avalanche hazard within the space, referred to as the Central Cascades, is “reasonable to appreciable” and stated the general public ought to “use excessive warning when recreating within the space.”

CORRECTION (Feb. 19, 2025, 8:45 p.m. ET): A earlier model of this text misstated Bend, Oregon’s location. It’s about 140 miles east of Eugene, not 140 miles west.