UPDATE: The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has identified the two Bend residents killed in an avalanche near Broken Top on Monday evening as Terance Olaf Skjersaa, 57, and Susan Renee Skjersaa, 52. 

The sheriff’s office released the names Wednesday morning. Their bodies were recovered Tuesday after friends found the couple buried in an avalanche Monday night. 

---

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office recovered the bodies of two people who were killed in an avalanche Monday near Broken Top mountain. 

The sheriff’s office responded to a report of an avalanche burial at 9 p.m. Monday between the Bend Watershed and Broken Top in an area known as Happy Valley, near Trail 8.

The victims names were being withheld Tuesday, although Deschutes County Sherif Kent van der Kamp said in a statement, “I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the couple who lost their lives in the avalanche while enjoying the Central Oregon backcountry. Their long history in our community and the lives they touched are a testament to the spirit and resilience that make Central Oregon such a special place to live.”

According to the Central Oregon Avalanche Center, avalanche danger in the Central Cascades is “considerable” — a three on a scale of zero to five. A Sunday evening forecast from the center said avalanche danger would continue to rise on Monday as snow piled up.

“Avalanches large enough to bury or injure a rider are possible at all elevations, and likely wherever the wind has blown in deeper deposits of snow,” the forecast said.