Some of the victims of the deadly California avalanche near Lake Tahoe were identified on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the families of six of the avalanche victims identified them as Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, residents of the Bay Area, Idaho and the Truckee-Tahoe region.
Vitt, a former SiriusXM executive from the Bay Area, was also identified by a family friend to CBS News.
"It's a horrible tragedy," said the friend who has known the family for 50 years. "She died up in the mountains off of I-80 up there near Sugar Bowl. She and her friends were on a guided overnight backcountry skiing trip."
The friend asked not to be named out of respect for the family. Vitt is survived by her husband and two young children.
"We are devastated beyond words," a statement from the six families' spokesperson read. "Our focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honoring the lives of these extraordinary women. They were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors. They were passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountains."
A group of 15 skiers was hit by the avalanche on Tuesday near Castle Peak in Nevada County, north of Boreal Mountain Ski Resort, as a heavy snowstorm brought blizzard conditions to the higher elevations in Northern California. Eight of the nine skiers who were reported missing after the avalanche have been found dead, with the ninth missing skier also presumed deceased. Six were rescued.
"We have many unanswered questions, but here is what we know at this time: Eight close friends planned a professionally guided, two-night backcountry hut trip to Frog Lake Huts outside Truckee, California," the families' statement continued. "The trip had been organized well in advance. They were experienced backcountry skiers who deeply respected the mountains. They were trained and prepared for backcountry travel and trusted their professional guides on this trip. They were fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment."
The families thanked the Nevada County Search and Rescue, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue and all the authorities involved in the rescue efforts, and said they're grateful "for the outpouring of support from the Tahoe community and beyond."
"We are heartbroken and are doing our best to care for one another and our families in the way we know these women would have wanted," they said. "We are asking for privacy and space as our families grieve this sudden and profound loss."
On Wednesday, the Sugar Bowl Academy in Placer County said multiple members of the community and others with strong connections died in the avalanche.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Mill Valley, California, said women from his city were among the victims in the avalanche. Mayor Max Perrey told The Associated Press that skiers caught in the avalanche were mothers who lived in the city about 14 miles north of San Francisco in Marin County. He did not provide additional details on their identities or whether the victims were among those killed or injured.
The avalanche was the deadliest in California history and the fourth-deadliest in U.S. history.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office said the bodies of the eight skiers found dead have not yet been removed because of weather conditions, and that crews have marked their locations with avalanche poles. California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health told CBS News Sacramento that it was investigating Blackbird Mountain Guides, the company that led the skiers on a three-day backcountry excursion during conditions that had triggered an avalanche warning.
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