An avalanche that tumbled from Mount Jumbo in western Montana destroyed a house and left three injured.
The snow pounded Missoula's northeast on Friday, pummeling a handful of residences in its path. One house was demolished, but three people were found alive in the debris.
Two of the victims have been identified as husband and wife Fred Allendorf and Michel Jo Colville. They are reportedly in critical condition, according to the Associated Press.
The identity of the young boy has not yet been released - officials said that he was alive when he was removed from the snow and transferred to nearby medical facility St. Patrick Hospital.
Allendorf and Colville reportedly lived in the house that was struck by the avalanche at around 4 p.m.
The Missoulian reported that neighbors and emergency response crews who first arrived at the scene scrambled through the snow and wreckage trying to find the missing people.
Utility crews were called to the neighborhood at the foot of Mount Jumbo, after someone reported a suspected gas leaks.
Neighbor Cheryl McMillan lives minutes from the house that was destroyed by the avalanche. She said she heard a loud noise, but couldn't identify it initially.
"Then, when we looked again, we saw that their whole house was kind of no longer there, at least the top floor," McMillan told the Missoulian.
Investigators tasked with the case assessed the potential danger of another avalanche in the immediate area on Saturday.
