One person dead after snowmobile goes through ice in Vilas County

VILAS COUNTY, Wis. (WSAW) - One person is dead after their snowmobile broke through the ice Tuesday evening.

The Vilas County Dispatch Center received a 911 call just before 7:00 p.m. to report a snowmobile that had broken through the ice on Catfish Lake in the Town of Lincoln. According to a press release, the snowmobile operator had left the marked trail and drove to an area of the lake with thin ice and open water. Emergency responders searched the area and found the operator underwater and unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Vilas County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man as 40-year-old Gregory Parkinson of Tomahawk.

The Eagle River Fire Department, Eagle River Ambulance, and the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident.