Body of snowmobiler who fell through ice recovered, police say

Police say they've recovered the body of a missing snowmobiler who fell through the ice of a pond near Grand Falls-Windsor.

The 36-year-old man was reported missing Saturday afternoon, whenGrand Falls-Windsor RCMPand search and rescue crewsresponded to the call.

Nearby residents helped responders locate the site, police said. The search continued untilSaturday evening, resuming Sunday morning.

A spokesperson with Exploits Search and Rescue told CBC News that responders conducted the searchin the area of Frozen Ocean Lake.

Police said the pond was about a 20-minutesnowmobile ridefrom the roadway, with visible snowmobile tracks leading to a hole in the ice.

TheRCMP's underwater recovery team located the body Sunday afternoon.

The man was travelling with another person, also on snowmobile, when they became separated, an RCMP spokesperson said in a statement.

Police urged the public to steer clear of icy lakes and ponds, warning that no"open body of water covered with ice can ever be considered completely safe."

Ice thickness checks should be done otherwise, the statement said, but variables such as temperature and water currents can still make surface ice unpredictable.

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