KENAI, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) – A 16-year-old boy in Alaska was killed after he was buried in an avalanche, according to authorities.
The Alaska State Troopers received a report for a fatal avalanche in Turnagain Pass around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Turnagain Pass is located south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula.
Troopers said the boy’s body was recovered around 11:00 a.m. by the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and identified as 16-year-old Tucker Challans from Soldotna, Alaska.
According to a public dispatch, a group of snowmachiners were riding on the backside of Seattle Ridge just northwest of the Seward Highway.
“Witnesses stated that a juvenile male triggered an avalanche and died after being buried,” the report states.
At the time of the avalanche, the body was in an unstable area, and the Alaska Rescue Mountain Group took up recovery efforts on Sunday.
His body was located in the Warmup Bowl, known by snowmachiners as the -1 Bowl.
The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center asks that people avoid the area as officials conduct the recovery. The center will compile a preliminary report and release it Sunday.
The next of kin for the snowmachiner has been notified.
Copyright 2025 KTUU via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.