UPDATE: The missing snowmobilers in Bear Lake County have been located, according to a representative with the Bear Lake County Sheriff's Office. The missing snowmobilers were located at about 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.  The representative was unable to provide any additional information at the time of the call, however.

ORIGINAL STORY

   Local law enforcement agencies were busy on Monday, responding to numerous crashes — one of which was fatal — and participating in a search effort for two snowmobilers in Bear Lake County.

    The most serious crash occurred on Interstate 15, north of Dad’s truck stop in Idaho Falls, and involved three vehicles.

    Idaho State police said the incident began when Ammon resident Adrianne Elliott, 23, hit a patch of ice while driving her 1996 Mercury Marquis.

    She lost control of the northbound vehicle and subsequently struck a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, driven by Idaho Falls resident Amanda Sterling, 30.

    At that point, Elliott’s vehicle was hit by a 2012 Dodge 3500 pickup pulling a 2002 Haulette trailer; Utah resident William Jesperson, 70, was driving that vehicle, police said.

    Elliott and her infant daughter were transported by ground ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where they were treated and released, according to hospital officials. But Idaho Falls resident Dora Heiner, 74, who was also riding in Elliott’s car, died at the scene, police said.

    Neither Sterling nor Jesperson were injured in the incident, police said.

    Idaho State police also responded to several other wrecks and slide-offs on I-15 from Pocatello, north, according to dispatchers. They issued a press release shortly before 7 p.m., warning drivers to take extra precautions and give themselves more time to arrive at their destinations.

    “Idaho State Police is currently working several slide-offs and crashes in the Idaho Falls area,” the news release stated. “Inclement weather has created slick roadways and slower driving conditions.”

    Pocatello police responded to roughly five crashes between 5 and 6 p.m. on Monday; the Benton Street overpass was especially slick, they said. Bannock County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to a couple of slide-offs, and dispatchers there said many of the roads were slick on Monday night.

    In Power County, emergency dispatchers said a vehicle struck an embankment on eastbound Interstate 86, near American Falls, around 5 p.m.

    And dispatchers in Bingham and Franklin counties both reported rollovers on Monday. The first occurred around 4:30 p.m. on the 5400 block of South State, not far from the Idaho and Utah border, according to dispatchers in Franklin. The second occurred around 7:30 p.m. on Highway 39 near the Bingham and Power County line.

    No serious injuries were reported in any of those incidents.

    Due to drifting snow and limited visibility on Monday, the Idaho Transportation Department decided to close portions of I-15, U.S. 20 and State Highway 87, all leading to Montana, according to the ITD website.

    Few details were available on Monday night regarding the two snowmobilers missing in Bear Lake County, but dispatchers there said the adult males were reported missing around 8:30 p.m. Bear Lake County Sheriff’s officials and a search and rescue team were still looking for the missing snowmobilers in the Home Canyon area as of 10 p.m.

    National Weather Service officials based in Pocatello did issue a Winter Weather Advisory for the Southeast Idaho area Monday.

    Forecasters indicated that an Arctic air mass will settle across the area Monday night and linger through Thursday. The initial cold front is expected to bring a cold north wind through Tuesday, which could be accompanied by snow.

    Furthermore, the daily high will remain in the single digits to below-zero. In fact, on Wednesday, it is anticipated that the low temperature will be minus 10 degrees across the region.

    Snow accumulation will range from 1 to 3 inches in the valleys through Tuesday night and 4-10 inches in the mountains. Pocatello’s forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of snow Thursday. New snow accumulation of less than 1 inch is possible.

    On Friday, Gate City residents could experience a partly sunny day with a high near 19 degrees and a low of 7 degrees.

    In Idaho Falls, there is a 20 percent chance of snow on Thursday with a high temperature of 7 degrees and a low around -2 degrees.

    Those in the upper valley could see the temperature gauge get up to 13 degrees on Friday. The low is expected to fall to around -5 degrees.