Snowmobiler Dies After Breaking Through Thin Ice In Oakland

A Massachusetts man was pronounced dead Saturday afternoon after the snowmobile he was operating broke through thin ice on Messalonskee Lake (Snow Pond) in Oakland, the Maine Warden Service said.

Richard Dumont, 52, of North Attleboro was riding a Polaris 550 snowmobile toward the outlet of the lake when the sled broke through the ice, game wardens said.

Witnesses who saw the incident called 911 at 2:51 p.m., causing an immediate response by the Oakland Fire Department, Oakland Police Department, Maine State Police and Maine Warden Service.

Fire department personnel reached Dumont with an ice rescue sled and pulled him from the water. Delta Ambulance staff attempted to revive Dumont and transported him to Inland Hospital in Waterville, where he was pronounced dead.

The Warden Service will continue to investigate the incident, and game wardens are urging snowmobilers to exercise extreme caution while on any body of water this winter season.

This is Maine’s second snowmobile-related fatality this season.