Boy, 18, dies after he was buried under an avalanche for over an hour during a snowmobiling trip with his father
- Chase Adams was snowmobiling with his father, Ben, in remote part of Farmington Canyon, Utah, Saturday when an avalanche was triggered
- The 18-year-old Chase was buried under thousand of pounds of snow with his snowmobile, but his father escaped unharmed
- It took rescuers and bystanders 70 minutes to locate, extract and transport Chase to a hospital, but he could not been saved
- His father said in a statement: ‘I am an extremely strong man and in the moment of physical need to save my son my strength availed nothing’
A Utah teenager lost his life over the weekend when an avalanche buried him under thousands of pounds of snow while he was out snowmobiling with his father in Farmington Canyon.
Chase Adams, 18, and his father, Ben Adams, were riding snowmobiles on Saturday afternoon when an avalanche was unintentionally triggered at around 1.30pm.
The teenager and his snowmobile were immediately buried under at least six feet of snow, according to a statement from the Davis County Sheriff’s Office.
Chase Adams, 18 (pictured left with his dog, Diesel), was snowmobiling with his father, Ben (right), in Farmington Canyon, Utah, on Saturday when an avalanche was triggered
This image shows the remote area accessible only by snowmobile where the avalanche took place at around 1.30pm on Saturday
Chase and his snowmobile were buried in at least six feet of snow. It took rescuers 30 minutes to locate him and another 20 minutes to dig him out (pictured from rescue effort)
Chase was wearing an avalanche beacon and deployed the airbag in his special backpack.
There were some initial reports that his airbag was not deployed or did not function, but the bag was punctured during the recovery effort, Utah Avalanche Center reported.
Davis County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue was called out to the remote area where the avalanche took place at 1.44pm and located Chase within 30 minutes.
Ben Adams released a statement lamenting that he was not strong enough to save his son, Chase, after the avalanche
It took 10 people another 20 minutes to dig the 18-year-old out of the piled-up snow. Within 70 minutes of the first 911 call reporting the avalanche, a critically injured Chase was airlifted to the University of Utah Hospital, where he later died.
His father, Ben, who escaped the avalanche unharmed, released a statement lamenting that he was not strong enough to save his son.
‘I am an extremely strong man and in the moment of physical need to save my son my strength availed nothing,’ he wrote. ‘I was useless and shifted my strength to God. I relied on him, knowing my nothingness and trusting his great power to give me strength to know that, someday, we will see each other again, by virtue of Jesus Christ.’
Ben, who lives in Ogden with his wife and children, wrote that prior to the avalanche, he and his boys were having a ‘wonderful day doing what we love to do.’
The Adams family enjoy winter sports (Chase is pictured on a snowmobile) and are familiar with the Farmington Canyon area from past excursions
The location where the fatal incident took place was well-familiar to the father and sons, who are experienced snowmobilers and outdoorsmen.
‘When the snow slid, I was shocked,’ Ben wrote, ‘but I had a feeling everything was going to be okay. I prayed, I called his mom, I called 911, and she called 911.’
Ben Adams thanked everyone who took part in the search and rescue operation, and urged them to ‘be safe.’