BILLINGS, Mont. — Authorities say a 50-year-old man was killed in an avalanche while he was snowmobiling in west-central Wyoming's Squaw Creek area.

Lt. Brian Andrews with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department says Bob Joe Turney was buried after a 150-foot wide avalanche broke loose near Greys River at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Turney was wearing an avalanche beacon, and three fellow snowmobilers located him within about 15 minutes of the slide.

Avalanche danger at the time was rated considerable by the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center. The slide happened at about 9,000 feet of elevation on a south-facing slope.

Snowmobilers have accounted for five of the 11 avalanche deaths in the United States this winter. There have now been two avalanche deaths in Wyoming this winter, the first occurring Jan. 6 when a Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski patroller was swept off a cliff.

Montana has seen two avalanche deaths this winter. An ice climber was killed in the Hyalite Canyon area near Bozeman on Dec. 10, and a Billings man who was snowmobiling near Cooke City was killed Jan. 3.

___

Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com