March 11, 2011 - Fatality at Deer Mountain
Michael Madden, 35, of Ketchikan disappeared after last seen solo hiking up to snowboard Deer Mountain behind Ketchikan. There was a large search effort, but winds as high as 50 mph and over 5 feet of new snow resulted in very high avalanche danger and visibility at times down to 20 feet, left Michael missing.
His body was recovered later that summer after being first spotted by aircraft in the “Fin” area of Deer Mountain. While a cause of death cannot be determined, Madden is presumed to have perished in an avalanche.