Dangerous conditions slow recovery of body at ice caves
Jul 7, 2015, 10:50 AM
In this July 2010 photo, visitors examine the Big Four Ice Caves in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Granite Falls, Wash. The Snohomish County sheriff's office says rescuers responded to a report of a partial collapse of the ice caves Monday, July 6, 2015. (Mark Mulligan/The Herald via AP)
(Mark Mulligan/The Herald via AP)
VERLOT, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say dangerous conditions are making it difficult to recover the body of a 34-year-old woman who died when ice caves partially collapsed in Washington state.
Rescue experts say rock and ice fell at the back of the cave Monday and more debris came down overnight.
Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said at a news conference Tuesday that rescuers are looking at “every possible option” for recovering the body.
Phyllis Reed of the U.S. Forest Service says signs warn visitors of the hazards from ice and rock at the Big Four Ice Caves, a popular hiking destination about 70 miles northeast of Seattle.
She says warm weather has made the caves unstable this season, and the ice already has melted as much as is typically seen in August.
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