UPDATED: Search and rescue crews in northern Norway found the body Friday of the third of four women caught in a massive snow- and rockslide earlier this week. Three of the four victims were sisters.
Police in Helgeland found some items tied to the missing women on Thursday, including broken skis, a backpack, clothing and a Thermos bottle. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that search crews also found a camera and a GPS.
The women themselves were believed to remain buried under the snow, mud and ice that suddenly roared down a slope where they were skiing near Jamtfjelltinden, east of Mosjøen.
The bodies of two of the eight persons in their group were found on Monday. They were identified as Tove Peggy Åkerøy, age 45, and her friend Berit Rugeldal, age 47.
On Friday afternoon, search crews located the body of Bjørg Heidi Åkerøy, age 43. Efforts continued to find her younger sister, Therese Mari Åkerøy, age 29, missing and presumed dead.
The three sisters and their skiing companions were said to have been doing what they loved most, being outdoors in the mountains, when the avalanche hit. Police said it was caused by rapidly melting snow and was not set off by the skiers themselves. All eight in the group were experienced mountaineers.
Search efforts were hampered by the danger of more avalanches. The search was expected to last several days.
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