Remains of Heli-Skier Buried In Alaskan Avalanche Last Winter Recovered

Alaska State Troopers report the body of a man killed in an avalanche while heli-skiing near Girdwood on March 4th, 2025 was recovered last week. Three men were killed in the accident and the remains of two are still unrecovered. Recovery of the bodies was called off at the time of the slide due to dangerous conditions.

The remains were discovered Friday, October 3rd by the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department who flew to the site a Department of Public Safety helicopter. The body was found in a log jam in a river flowing under the avalanche slide area about 10 miles south down the Seward Highway from Girdwood near the west fork of Twentymile River.

The remains were transferred to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy and positive identification. Alaska State Troopers plan additional search flights and ground searchs to find the remains of the other two heli-skiers. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased men.

Alaska State Troopers Press Release:

Location: Girdwood

Type: Avalanche / Search and Rescue

UPDATE 10/7: On October 3, 2025, volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department traveled to the slide area aboard DPS HELO 3. The team was able to recover the remains of one adult male who had become caught in a log jam in the river flowing underneath the avalanche slide area. The adult male’s remains have been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy and positive ID. The man’s identity will be released publicly once his identity has been positively confirmed. Next of kin have been notified.

Additional overflight and ground operations are scheduled to continue to search for and recover the other two missing men.

UPDATE 3/7 1:30 pm: Yesterday, Troopers, avalanche experts, and a technical mountain rescue expert conducted an aerial and on-the-ground assessment of the slide area and location where the three avalanche beacons last signaled. The beacons last signal indicated they were buried between 40 feet and nearly 100 feet deep at the bottom of a steep section of terrain. Due to a high risk of additional avalanches and the challenging location where the bodies of the three men are believed to be buried – the team has reached the consensus that recovery efforts are unfortunately not possible until conditions improve that allow for the safety of rescue teams who will need to spend significant time in the area. The State Troopers and the heliski operator will continue to evaluate conditions to determine when it is safe to allow rescue teams to operate in this area, recognizing that it may take some time for conditions to improve. We know that this is not the solution that the loved ones of these men were looking for today; however, it is the safest path forward for everyone involved.

UPDATE 3/6 9:00 am: The Alaska State Troopers have identified the three missing persons who were caught in the avalanche as:

David Linder, 39 of Florida
Charles Eppard 39, of Montana
Jeremy Leif, 38, of Minnesota

Troopers, avalanche, and recovery experts will attempt to conduct an aerial assessment of the slide area today to determine additional avalanche danger and recovery options.

UPDATE 3/5 4:25 pm: Due to poor weather conditions in the area that prevented helicopter flights, Troopers, avalanche experts, and recovery teams could not assess the slide area for avalanche safety considerations and recovery options today. Troopers are optimistic that weather conditions will improve on March 6th to allow for flights in the area.

ORIGINAL: On March 4, 2025, at 5:10 pm, the Alaska Wildlife Troopers were notified of an avalanche near the West Fork of 20 Mile River near Girdwood. A preliminary investigation determined three adult heliskiers were caught in a large avalanche around 3:30 pm. Guides from the commercial heliskiing operation that the group was with immediately attempted to locate the three skiers. Using avalanche beacons, the guides identified a probable area where skiers were buried between 40 feet and nearly 100 feet deep. The guides were unable to recover the three skiers due to the depth. Due to considerable avalanche risk in this area and limited daylight, no further recovery operations were conducted on March 4th. On March 5th, Troopers plan to assess the area to determine if recovery operations can safely be conducted.