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Second body recovered from March avalanche near Girdwood

A helicopter hovers near a snow patch atop a rocky ravine.
Alaska State Troopers
An Alaska State Troopers helicopter hovers in late August near a ravine in the Twentymile River drainage, where three heli-skiers were killed in an avalanche March 4.

Searchers recovered a second body Sunday from an avalanche near Girdwood in March that killed three heli-skiers visiting from out of state.

That’s according to a statement Tuesday from the Alaska State Troopers, whose helicopter flew members of the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group to the avalanche site near the west fork of the Twentymile River.

Troopers have not yet publicly identified the man found Sunday but say his next of kin have been notified.

In early October, searchers found the body of 39-year-old Florida resident David Linder caught in a logjam in the river, where it flowed beneath avalanche debris, troopers said.

Linder had been joined by 39-year-old Montana resident Charles Eppard and 38-year-old Minnesota resident Jeremy Leif on a guided heli-skiing trip with Chugach Powder Guides when the avalanche caught and buried the three friends on March 4.

Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cgrove@alaskapublic.org.