By Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporter

The young man who was killed Sunday in a snowboarding accident at Stevens Pass was a University of Washington student from Tukwila.

Riley McCarthy, a 20-year-old sophomore at the UW and a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, was snowboarding with three friends in an out-of-bounds area near Cowboy Ridge when he was caught up in an avalanche and slammed into a tree, the King County Sheriff's Office said.

McCarthy's friends, who were uninjured, managed to dig him out of the snow but they were unable to revive him, according to sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart.

McCarthy suffocated under the weight of the snow, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office.

McCarthy was a bright and inquisitive young man who spent much of his time outdoors, according to his cousin, Jessi Richardson. He liked to take things apart and rebuild them, she said, and was leaning toward a major in mechanical engineering.

He also loved snowboarding and riding his BMX bike, she said.

McCarthy was among the fifth generation of a family with long-standing roots in Tukwila, according to his cousin. His mother, Peggy McCarthy, is the city's deputy finance director, and McCarthy was a fourth-generation graduate of Foster High School, Richardson said.

"Riley was kind and compassionate, a gifted athlete and great student," his family said in a statement. "Most of all he was a beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, fraternity brother and a friend of many.

"We are all devastated by his loss."

Members of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity also released the following statement on Monday:

"Our chapter is in complete shock. We have lost a great friend and Brother. Riley made us laugh so often," wrote Kevin D'Olivo, undergraduate chapter president. "We take solace in the fact that he lived life the way it is supposed to be lived."

In addition to his mother, McCarthy is survived by his father, John McCarthy; a brother, Michael; and sisters Erin and Kerry.

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