WASHINGTON, 22 February 2026 – Authorities have confirmed that the bodies of all nine people who lost their lives in a deadly avalanche in California have now been recovered.
Officials said four bodies were recovered on Friday, while the remaining five were found on Saturday morning. All victims were airlifted by helicopter from a remote mountainous region due to difficult terrain and weather conditions.
The avalanche struck at around 11:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday in the Castle Peak area of Nevada County, a popular location for backcountry skiing.
The victims were part of a group of 15 people returning from a three-day guided ski trip when the avalanche occurred. Six people survived and were rescued later that evening after search teams battled severe blizzard conditions.
Eight skiers were confirmed dead by Wednesday, while the ninth was initially reported missing and later presumed dead. Authorities stated that the recovery operation is now complete and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
