OPP underwater search and recovery team pulled the body of a missing Durham area man from Sturgeon Lake nearly 24-hours after he plunged through the ice on his snowmobile.
The OPP dive team arrived on scene Sunday morning and were searching a portion of the lake just east of Big Bob Channel and Lock 32 in Bobcaygeon, where two men who were both riding snowmobiles plunged into the frigid water around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
One man was rescued after some quick-thinking neighbours sprang into action.
Steve Dodds lives on Sturgeon Lake and was outside on his deck barbecuing when he heard screams for help coming from the water.
“He was calling for help but at that point, he was more worried about his buddy, and he kept telling me to ‘look for my buddy,’ but I never saw him or heard him,” said Dodds.
Another neighbour came out of her home with a flashlight while Dodds and his wife were able to find a rope and get it to the man in the water.
Dodds says another man came from nowhere it seemed and jumped into the water and helped secure the rope and get the man back to shore.
City of Kawartha Lakes fire and rescue and paramedics arrived on the scene shortly after.
Firefighters used a rubber raft to search the water while a search and rescue unit from the Canadian Armed Forces Trenton base arrived by helicopter and helped to shine a light into the area but eventually the search was called off just before midnight.
A friend of the two snowmobilers at the scene on Sunday confirmed the man who was rescued Saturday was taken to Ross Memorial Hospital, treated and released.
It was a mild weekend and with a high of six-degrees on Saturday, the frozen ice quickly became dangerous. Dodds says the water also moves quickly along this section of Sturgeon Lake.
“The dam and the locks are just down there,” said Dodds, pointing over his shoulder. “And there’s quite a current.”
On Wednesday, neighbours confirmed the lake was completely frozen over, but two days later, the ice began to break up and large sections of open water were visible on Sunday morning.
“Even yesterday morning there was still more ice out there but I guess by 6:30 p.m. there was even less.”
Sunday marks the kickoff of the Ontario Snowmobile Safety Week, a joint campaign with the OPP and Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC). There have already been eight snowmobile fatalities this season — four on the water.
OPP advises riders to use the OFSC trail system as ice conditions are proving to be dangerous.
On Monday, OPP identified the victim as 48-year-old Earl Strong, of Courtice, Ont.
Toronto Fire Services has confirmed Strong was a firefighter with the City of Toronto.
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