Search for Renton dentist lost in avalanche likely won’t resume this week | Update

Published 12:10 pm Tuesday, April 23, 2013

UPDATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Another large avalanche has occurred near where one April 13 buried Renton dentist Mitch Hungate, so it’s unlikely search-and-rescue teams will resume the search this week, according to Sgt. Cindi West, a spokeswoman for the King County Sheriff’s Office,

The search could resume Friday for Dr. Mitch Hungate, who was killed in an avalanche on Snoqualmie Pass April 13, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Hungate’s family had hoped the search would resume Monday, with the improved weather in the Cascades.

“We are hoping the warm weather melts much of the snow the next few days,” said Sgt. Cindi West, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office.

Hungate, who has been a dentist in Renton for about 30 years, was lost in the avalanche on Granite Mountain. Two men with him survived with minor injuries.