‘We did everything we could do’: Quebecer dead in Utah avalanche loved nature

MONTREAL — A Quebec man killed in an avalanche in the state of Utah over the weekend is being remembered as a nature lover and adventure seeker who will be sorely missed.

Utah authorities said David Éthier died while splitboarding Saturday in Millcreek Canyon near Salt Lake City. The Quebec man was reported missing on Sunday and his body was recovered on Tuesday, local police said.

Éthier, 38, had worked for the last four years at BRP, the Quebec-based powersports vehicle and marine products manufacturer, in the company’s Sherbrooke, Que., office, about 130 kilometres east of Montreal.

The company learned late Wednesday of the passing of Éthier, a technical support team worker, said spokesperson Mélanie Montplaisir.

“He was a person who was passionate about his work and a true nature lover, much appreciated by his colleagues and our dealers,” Montplaisir said in an emailed statement offering condolences to his family.

“David often reminded his team that BRP was a way for him to combine his professional life with his love of adventure and the outdoors.”

Éthier’s brother Martin paid tribute to him in a post on Facebook on New Year’s Day.

“David was a fit man who loved the outdoors, but also a son, a beloved godfather, my favourite mechanic and a friend loved by all,” Martin Éthier wrote, thanking all the various teams that took part in an intensive search for him in Utah.

Martin Éthier also thanked the Good Samaritan who found his brother’s black Labrador, Lily, with whom he had been travelling.

The Salt Lake County sheriff’s office said it started a rescue operation on Sunday evening after a family came across Lily roaming the area on Saturday night. They used her microchip to identify Éthier and later found his car at a trailhead.

Authorities contacted his family in Quebec, who said he was 24 hours overdue.

The rescue continued into Monday but was hindered by heavy snow, authorities said.

“We did everything we could do,” Martin Éthier wrote in the last of a few updates on Facebook.

Many of David Éthier’s friends took to social media to honour him.

Charles Thibault, a work colleague, called him an extraordinary person and shared a handful of photos Éthier sent him on Dec. 26. “I already didn’t like the snow very much. I can say that for now, I hate it,” Thibault wrote. “Rest easy, you’ve earned it completely, that’s for sure.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2025.

The Canadian Press