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U.S. Champion Skier Dies in Avalanche in Japan

Kyle Smaine was one of two people found without vital signs on Monday.

An American professional skier was found dead after being caught in an avalanche in Japan on Sunday, his family said. Kyle Smaine, 31, a freestyle skiing champion based in Lake Tahoe, California, was found without vital signs on Monday along with another as yet unidentified man foreigner who was also caught by the avalanche on the eastern slope of Mount Hakuba in the central prefecture of Nagano. A total of five foreigners from the U.S. and Austria were affected by the incident, but three were able to make their way down the mountain on their own while Smaine and the other man remained behind. Smaine’s father, William Smaine, confirmed his son’s death to NBC News.