Avalanche survivor takes his own life after finding out partner died

A Montana woman died in a weekend avalanche, and the family of her boyfriend said he survived the slide, but not the loss of his partner and took his own life.

The Gallatin County sheriff's office says 23-year-old Inge Perkins of Bozeman died Saturday in a slide on Imp Peak in the southern Madison Range. Officials say 27-year-old Hayden Kennedy of Carbondale, Colorado, was found dead Sunday at a residence in Bozeman.

After losing his girlfriend in the avalanche, Kennedy “chose to end his life" the following day, his family said Tuesday.

Michael Kennedy said he and his wife, Julie, "sorrowfully respect his decision."

Hayden Kennedy's family said he and Perkins had recently moved to Bozeman where he was working on his emergency medical technician certificate and she was completing her bachelor's degree in math and education at Montana State University.

Both were accomplished mountain climbers.

Officials say the pair were ascending a steep, narrow gully on Imp Peak in the southern Madison Range on Saturday when they triggered a slide that fully buried Perkins and partially buried Kennedy. He could not find her and hiked out of the area.

Gallatin County Search and Rescue recovered Perkin’s on Monday. She was covered almost a metre of snow.