Mounties in Revelstoke, B.C., are working to determine whether children were willingly put at risk when they were taken into avalanche territory last weekend.
Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told ctvbc.ca that an undisclosed number of children under the age of 18 were taken to the Big Iron Shoot-Out snowmobiling competition on Boulder Mountain on March 13, despite an active avalanche warning in the region.
"All aspects of this incident are being investigated, including whether children were deliberately or knowingly put in harm's way," he said.
"We all have a duty to act responsibly and keep our children safe."
Kurtis Reynolds and Shay Snortland, both 33-year-old Alberta residents, were killed in the avalanche, and another 31 people were injured. A 10-person team from the RCMP's Major Crimes Unit is conducting an investigation into the events surrounding the slide.
Officers have approached a number of people who attended the competition and their family members, Moskaluk said, but are in no rush to recommend charges.
"Things are still very fresh," he said. "Some of these people are contending with loved ones who survived it and are seriously injured."
Charlotte Skowronek nearly lost her young son in the avalanche, and her husband Joe Masi Sr. remains in critical condition.
She told CTV News on Monday that she believes her son only survived the slide because of her husband.
"He put himself in danger to save his son," she said. "After he placed him in a spot he thought safe, he went to find his spot and just got nailed by the avalanche. There wasn't enough time to save himself."
With files from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
