Bodies Found Confirmed To Be Missing Skiers

The bodies of two well know Jackson Hole ski mountaineers were recovered about mid-day today after they failed to return from an outing Wednesday in Grand Teton National Park.  Searchers from Grand Teton National Park aided by the Teton County Search and Rescue contract helicopter launched the search this morning for Steve Romeo and Chris Onufer of Jackson who had been skiing a couloir off Ranger Peak on the northern end of the park.  An initial search Wednesday night turned up Onufer’s car in the Colter Bay parking area.  Then Thursday morning, during a sweep of the area the pair had planned to ski, searchers on board the helicopter failed to see the men, but spotted the path of a recent large avalanche.  Using a transceiver mounted below the helicopter, they then detected signals from personal locator beacons in the debris field.  Rangers were then put on the ground at the site and began searching the debris with probe poles.  Then about mid-day, the searchers located the bodies of  two men.  Spokesperson Jackie Skaggs said confirmation was received about 1:30 pm that the bodies found were indeed Romeo and Onufer.  The avalanche danger was listed as moderate on Wednesday afternoon, and low on Thursday morning, according to the Bridger-Teton National Forest avalanche center.