LAKE COUNTY MAN KILLED IN AVALANCHE

One of two hikers killed this week in an avalanche in Washington state has

been identified as a Lake County man.

Craig C. Stanton, 38, who friends said was an experienced hiker and

climber, had lived at Harbin Springs near Middletown for the past six months.

He originally was from Washington state. A King County, Wash., sheriff's

spokesman said that Stanton, along with a 33-year-old woman and her husband,

also 38, were hiking next to Snow Lake when they were caught by an avalanche.

The group went hiking Nov. 30 and relatives notified the sheriff's office

when they hadn't returned by Sunday. Rescue teams found the hikers Tuesday.

Stanton and Stacia Thompson, a Washington state resident, were found dead,

while the woman's husband was injured but survived.

Avalanches in the Snow Lake area are common, especially after fresh

snowfall, officials said.