Police said a 36-year-old man from the Morinville, Alta., area is missing and presumed dead after falling through a remote lake in Yukon, located northwest of Whitehorse, Monday night.
Ross River Faro RCMP were notified shortly after midnight Tuesday that two of three men snowmobiling 60 kilometres west of Faro had fallen through the ice of Drury Lake a few hours earlier, and one did not resurface.
Police believe he drowned. RCMP said the two other men — both from the Whitehorse area — travelled to a home in Drury Creek and called for help.
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Because of the remote location of the lake, poor visibility due to darkness, and unstable ice conditions, police said emergency crews decided to begin searching when the sun came up.
On Tuesday morning, Yukon Search and Rescue and ice rescue technicians from the Whitehorse Fire Department flew in by helicopter and searched the lake. Aerial and underwater searches were done, but no trace of the man was found.
An underwater recovery team from the British Columbia RCMP is expected to make an attempt to find the man’s body later this week.
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Yukon officials are warning residents to use extreme caution around rivers and lakes because they say the ice may not be as thick as expected.
RCMP said the man was in Yukon for work. Police have not released his identity.
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