Last updated 11:23pm – Saturday, March 30-13
LAKE WOLSEY–Ontario Provincial Police have confirmed that Daniel Labelle, age 55, of Sudbury perished in a Good Friday ice fishing trip to Lake Wolsey after the ATV he and two others were travelling on broke through the ice on the lake located west of Gore Bay.
OPP were alerted to the event at approximately 7:56 a.m. Friday morning and responded to the call for assistance in relation to a party of fishermen whose ATV had broken through a section of ice.
Two of the men riding in the ATV were able to rescue themselves.
The third rider, Daniel Labelle, aged 55 of Sudbury, died in the incident and his body was recovered by OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit later in the day.
The OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit is located out of Gravenhurst and is composed of a team of five highly experienced divers.
The OPP reminds recreational fishermen and ATV and snowmobile operators that this is the second recent event where a person has gone through the ice on Lake Wolsey.
Earlier this week, a snowmobiler went through the ice on the same body of water with his snowmobile but was able to make it to shore safely.
The OPP urges extreme caution when venturing out onto area waterways as ice conditions have proven to be highly unpredictable.
Milder temperatures and water flows beneath the ice surface on any area waterway denigrate the strength of the ice. As such, venturing onto any ice surface on any motorized vehicle is not recommended.
