The Maine Warden Service Dive Team this morning recovered the body of a man who broke through the ice on Seboeis Lake while on a snowmobile yesterday afternoon.
Allen Cole, Jr. age 74 of Bradford, was out on his 2006 Artic Cat snowmobile with his dog yesterday afternoon on Seboeis Lake, looking for areas to ice fish today. Around 2:00 p.m. yesterday, he met another angler at the boat landing, told him he was going to check another area to fish, headed off on his snowmobile, and then never returned.
Cole’s family notified the warden service last night around 7:00 p.m., and the Maine Warden Service began searching the lake and shore. Game Wardens found Cole’s dog, alive and well at about 10:30, and shortly thereafter, found snowmobile tracks then led to an large hole in the ice, with no tracks on the other side.
At daylight this morning, Maine Warden Service Divers, with an airboat and hovercraft, motored out to the open area, and sent divers into the water. At approximately 8:55 this morning, game warden divers recovered the body of Mr. Cole.
“Ice conditions vary throughout the state, and while ice may be safe on smaller lakes and ponds, many of Maine’s larger lakes still have not frozen completely,” said Maine Warden Service Lieutenant Tom Ward. “Please check the ice before heading out onto the ice.”
