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WEST GLACIER - The Flathead County Sheriff's Department has identified the man who died Thursday in a possible avalanche-related death at Glacier National Park as Brian Wright, 37, of Whitefish.

Glacier National Park officials received the report at around 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Flathead County Sheriff's Department Sergeant Ernie Freebury says Wright's friends began looking for him after he left for a solo ski trip and they didn't hear from him for several days.

Rangers located his vehicle and then hiked to a back-county area at the base of Shields Mountain, where he often went to ski. They found Wright's body near the scene of a recent avalanche and confirmed the death at 5:45 in the evening.

Mount Shields is located on the southeast side of Glacier National Park, a few miles from U.S. Highway 2.

Park officials say they plan to return to the scene Friday and continue to investigate the probable cause of the avalanche.

The last U.S. Forest Service Glacier Country Avalanche Center advisory, issued on Friday, March 26th indicated wet snow avalanche danger was considerable between 5,000 and 7,000 feet.