Wasatch Backcountry Rescue K-9s Locate Snake Creek Avalanche Victim, Family Launches GoFundMe

Wasatch Backcountry Rescue K‑9 teams located the buried remains of Brian O’Keefe after a fatal avalanche in the Snake Creek area near Midway on Feb. 22, and O’Keefe’s family has launched a GoFundMe to support the all‑volunteer WBR K‑9 program. Volunteers say the dog teams were flown into the debris field once conditions were judged safe, and the recovery came within an hour of WBR’s Monday dispatch.

The family received a call Sunday that Brian was missing after the Snake Creek avalanche, and rescuers called off the initial search Sunday night because of unsafe avalanche hazard conditions. WBR was dispatched Monday morning, crews used helicopter and snowmobile assessments to size up the debris field, and then a dog team was flown to the site, where K‑9s quickly located Brian’s remains.

Kyle Gronset and his K‑9 Stan were pictured at the recovery site, with photos credited to Kelly O’Keefe, Brian’s younger brother. Kelly said the family watched Chopper 5 video of the operation and found the moment the dogs dug in “heartwarming,” noting, “I think Brian would think it was pretty special.” Kelly described the family as “devastated by the news” and said they started the GoFundMe because WBR is made up of “skilled volunteers funded by donations” and because supporting the teams felt aligned with Brian’s love of mountains and dogs.

WBR volunteers worked alongside Wasatch County Search and Rescue and the Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau during the operation. Erkkila, a dog trainer and crew leader with nearly 20 years of avalanche K‑9 experience, said safety assessments delayed ground entry but once it was safe “we flew a dog team up there to the site and they were able to locate the victim pretty quickly.” Erkkila added, “It can make the difference between life and death out there when you’re performing rescue services, and that’s really rewarding. That’s why most of us do it.”

Park Record and other reporting describe Brian O’Keefe as a snow biker and outdoor sports enthusiast who left behind a golden retriever named Maggie; sources list his age as either 45 or 46. The O’Keefe family’s GoFundMe specifically names support for Wasatch Backcountry Rescue and its K‑9 team that recovered Brian’s remains, with Kelly saying the effort is intended to “do good in Brian's honor and really support the efforts that helped our family and the other unfortunate families that are probably going to be in similar situations in the future.”

Wasatch Backcountry Rescue is an all‑volunteer 501(c)(3) incorporated in 1977, EIN 46‑2268483, that operates under the direction of the five Wasatch‑front county sheriff search and rescue divisions for Salt Lake, Summit, Weber, Wasatch and Utah counties. WBR’s membership and partner list includes Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton, Snowbasin, Park City Mountain, Deer Valley, Powder Mountain, Wasatch Powderbird Guides, Sundance Ski Resort, US Forest Service, Air Med, Life Flight and the Utah Department of Transportation, and the team emphasizes rapid avalanche response, training and education funded largely by donations. The family’s fundraiser aims to keep that capability ready for future incidents in the Wasatch ranges.