The Liberty Daily 
(The Epoch Times)—Eight missing backcountry skiers caught in an avalanche on Feb. 17 have died, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department.
The sheriff’s office confirmed during a press conference on Wednesday that eight out of nine skiers have been located, but not all bodies have been recovered due to dangerous conditions.
“We did have a conversation with the families of the folks that are still outstanding and let them know that our mission has went from a rescue to a recovery,” Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon revealed during a press conference on Feb. 18.
Trending: “Shockingly Bad” Chinese Economic Data Stuns Wall Street, Turnaround Is “Nowhere in Sight”
The search for the remaining bodies took an emotional toll on crews, according to Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo.
“This incident has specifically struck our organization and that team hard as one of the nine missing decedents is the spouse of one of our Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue team members,” Woo revealed on Wednesday.
The avalanche happened Tuesday in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Lake Tahoe.
Initially, 15 backcountry skiers—four guides and 12 clients—were rescued “with varying injuries” after the avalanche.
“Due to extreme weather conditions, it took several hours for rescue personnel to safely reach the skiers and transport them to safety where they were medically evaluated by Truckee Fire,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post on Feb. 17.
Two of the skiers were transported to the hospital.
Woo urged the public to “avoid the Sierras” during the storm due to treacherous conditions.
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned that bad conditions would continue on Wednesday.
