2 U.S. hikers feared dead after avalanche in Canadian park

March 16 (UPI) -- Two U.S. hikers are feared dead after an avalanche in Banff National Park in Canada, officials said.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp., said rescue workers located snowshoe tracks leading into the debris field from an avalanche, but not any tracks leading out of it, prompting them to convert their mission to a recovery effort.

The hikers will not be identified publicly but are believed to be from Boston. Their families have been notified of the investigation's findings, the CBC reported.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they have located the vehicle the hikers had rented on a road north of Lake Lousie, Alberta, after the pair went missing Tuesday. The area where the vehicle was parked had been at high risk of an avalanche, police said.

After a fly-over of the region, rescue workers said they had picked up transceiver signals that could belong to the hikers, but they were unable to see any evidence the hikers had survived.

Parks Canada, the agency leading the search, said the portion of Banff National Park where the hikers are believed to have traveled was closed to the public.