Snoqualmie Pass, WA – A private rescue group on Saturday found the body of a 40-year-old Seattle woman missing since last Tuesday while backcountry skiing on Red Mountain above Snoqualmie Pass.nThe King County Sheriff’s Office reports that members of BARK — Backcountry Avalanche Rescue K9s — found the body of Monika Johnson around 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon with the assistance of one of the group’s border collies. By law, they were unable to remove the body and had to await Sheriff Department helicopters, which had retreated from the area amidst avalanche concerns. The accident site is about a four-hour hike from Snoqualmie Pass.

Rescuers believe that a cornice broke beneath the victim, with the resulting 1,500-foot slide carrying her to her death.