By paNOW Staff

Snowmobiler missing on Wollaston Lake

Nov 12, 2014 | 12:54 PM

Search efforts are underway to find a 66-year-old man who is missing after he and another man fell through the ice while snowmobiling on Wollaston Lake.

The men were on separate snowmobiles when they fell through the ice at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday. RCMP investigators were told the two men broke through the ice near a cabin on a river near Peter Lake, which is about five to 10 minutes northwest of the Cigar Lake mine. 

A 64-year-old man, also from Wollaston Lake, managed to get out of the water and made his way to the cabin. The 66-year-old man had not surfaced. The incident was reported to the RCMP at about 3 p.m. RCMP said the 64-year-old man’s search for help led to the four-hour delay in reporting the incident to police.

An officer with the Wollaston Lake RCMP and four members of the Wollaston Lake Patrol Fourth Canadian Ranger Patrol Group flew out to the Cigar Lake Mine via a chartered plane, and were driven to the missing man’s cabin. There, they spoke to the 64-year-old man who didn’t need medical treatment.

RCMP and Canadian Rangers are currently at the scene where the 66-year-old man was last seen.

Court

Cries of racism fill courtroom as judge stays impaired driving charge in Saskatoon

10m ago

Community support

The Hunger Games return to Prince Albert

2h ago

Raiders win 5-3

Defensive scoring leads Raiders over Wheat Kings

10h ago

RCMP spokesperson Mandy Maier said they are just seeing if it’s safe to go out onto the ice and what the area is like.

“At this point, RCMP as well as the Canadian Ranger Patrol Group are actively searching for the male,” Maier said.

RCMP would not confirm whether or not they believe he is still in the water. However, Maier said the investigators are searching the surrounding area where he was last seen.

It was one of two incidents this week that involved snowmobilers on Wollaston Lake.

On Monday, a 22-year-old Wollaston man had to be airlifted to safety after he was injured by a tree branch while he was out snowmobiling with four other people.

The group was stranded at a trap line/cabin on a small island one mile north of Snowshoe Island on Wollaston Lake, according to the RCMP. They had boated out to the trap line days earlier, and were to stay there until the water froze over enough to snowmobile back to Wollaston Lake. They had food and a cellphone with them.

The water was not sufficiently frozen for them to snowmobile back.

A helicopter from Stony Rapids could not fly out at night, but was able to the next day at 9 a.m. Medical help from the Athabasca Health Authority was on board.The 22-year-old man was taken by helicopter to Wollaston Lake to await a medivac to a hospital.

The other four people did not need medical attention and remained on the small island.

RCMP would not discuss the nature of the man’s injuries or how he came to be injured by the tree branch.

-With files from Thia James.

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow