Small B.C. community grieves for 8 men caught in avalanches

Two church services were held Tuesday night in Sparwood, B.C., as the small community mourns the death of eight men caught in at least two avalanches near Fernie on Sunday.

At St. Michael's Catholic Church, about 250 people crammed into pews and many shed tears as Rev. Harry Clarken called it a "dark night of the soul."

Candles were lit for each of the eight dead men and placed outside the church doors in the snow, as a symbol to remember those buried by the avalanche

At the Sparwood Christian Centre, about 150 attended a service to support the victims' families and to comfort each other.

"My hope is the fact that we're here together will help family members endure what seems unendurable," said Pastor Shawn Barden, of Fernie Baptist Church, as several families of the victims listened.

Eleven male snowmobilers were trapped in the avalanches on Sunday, but three managed to dig themselves out.

One of those was Jeff Adams, who helped search crews pinpoint where the eighth man might be buried in the snow.

"We actually mapped where we found all of the seven victims yesterday, so based on interviewing him [Adams] and showing him where we found his friends, he was able to help us say, 'Well, the eighth person was here when the avalanche started,'" said Chris Thomas, president of Fernie Search and Rescue.

"That allowed us to concentrate where we were searching this morning."

Adams intended to speak to the media Tuesday but was overcome with grief and called it off.

The eighth and final body — identified as Daniel Bjarnason, 28 — was found Tuesday afternoon.

Bjarnason's father-in-law tearfully told reporters in the morning that he was praying that Bjarnason would be found alive.

"My hope, my prayer, is Danny is still out there and he's OK … he'll be found today," Randy Roberts said.

In an emotional news conference in Fernie, Roberts thanked the public for its support the morning after the bodies of seven snowmobilers were recovered from the deep snow that had buried them Sunday night.

But Roberts' hopes were dashed shortly after noon local time when word came that an eighth body had been found. Bjarnason was the only remaining missing snowmobilier, out of a group of 11 friends that had set out from Sparwood on the weekend.

The accident struck a chord with the tight-knit community, which organized a candlelight vigil for the victims Monday evening.

A local RCMP officer, a 32-year veteran, said he was also shocked by the tragic and sudden loss of lives.

"On a personal level eight is a lot. And I would struggle to think of a situation where I have been involved in personally where there were that many lives taken at once."

Also Tuesday, RCMP released the names of the seven men whose bodies were found Monday. They are:

• Kurt Kabel, 28.
• Warren Rothel, 33.
• Kane Rusnak, 30.
• Leonard Stier, 45.
• Michael Stier, 20.
• Thomas Talarico, 32.
• Blayne Wilson, 26.

Three men survived after they dug themselves out following the avalanches, and were located by a rescue helicopter.

According to Pierre Pelletier, publisher of the Fernie Free Press, the avalanches occurred "about 20 kilometres east of Fernie, in the Harvey Creek area." The area is about 300 kilometres southwest of Calgary.

After a carefully planned search, crews located three bodies at about 1 p.m. Monday afternoon and three more bodies a short time later, police said. The seventh body was found shortly before Monday's search was called off at 3:30 p.m.

The bodies recovered Monday lay beneath a hard-packed surface. The deepest was found under 3.5 metres of snow, the others about a metre beneath the surface, said Chris Thomas, president of Fernie Search and Rescue.

They were spread out over about 120 metres, and three were located almost immediately because they were wearing special avalanche transceivers that send out an electronic signal, Thomas said.

Roberts said the 11 snowmobilers were the "best of friends," and defended the safety precautions they took when they snowmobiled.

"Safety meant lots to those guys. …They all had their packs, their shovels … it's just an altercation that can happen at any time."

Roberts, also a snowmobiler, said the sport is popular in the community, where people take part in it as a bonding exercise.