Maine man dies when snowmobile plunges through thin ice

T4 R9, Maine - The Maine Warden Service Dive Team on Saturday recovered the body of a man who broke through the ice on Seboeis Lake while on a snowmobile Friday afternoon.

Allen Cole, Jr., 74, of Bradford, was out on his 2006 Artic Cat snowmobile with his dog Friday looking for areas to ice fish on Saturday. Around 2 p.m. 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 Friday night around 7 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 p.m., and shortly thereafter, found snowmobile tracks then led to an large hole in the ice, with no tracks on the other side.

At daybreak Saturday, 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 a.m. game warden divers recovered the body of 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 Lt. Tom Ward. "Please check the ice before heading out onto the ice."