Avalanche Suffocated 3 Hikers

EVERETT - Three hikers suffocated on Mount Index when an avalanche buried their tents under 5 feet of snow, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office said yesterday.

Autopsies on the bodies of Timothy Skadan, 31, of Bothell; Scott Bennett, 28, of Gold Bar, and Fred Petri Jr., 31, of Snohomish, determined the men had died of asphyxia.

The hikers were found in their tents Saturday. Search experts say the men may have been asleep when the avalanche roared down the mountain, triggered by a dramatic change in the weather.

The bodies were found not far from a trailhead parking lot near the Sunrise Mine. The trio left Dec. 27 for a hiking and camping trip near Lake Serene at elevation 3,500 feet. They were reported missing when they didn't return home Dec. 29.