2 snowmobilers in B.C. dead after falling through frozen lake

The RCMP Underwater Recovery Team enters Charlotte Lake in this image handed out by police.

The bodies of two snowmobilers were recovered from a frozen lake in northwestern B.C. Sunday, days after the couple was reported missing, according to police.

The Anahim Lake RCMP says the two snowmobilers were reported missing on Feb. 20, after they hadn’t been seen since Feb. 17. Neighbours searched for the couple and found them dead underneath the ice on Charlotte Lake, police said.

“Investigators believe the pair and their snowmobiles broke through the ice on Feb. 17,” Mounties wrote in a statement Monday. “Due to the delay in the couple being reported missing, the lake surface had time to refreeze, concealing the break in the ice.”

Members of the RCMP Underwater Recovery Team who had ice-diving training were sent to the scene on Sunday and retrieved the individuals.

The snowmobilers have been identified as a 65-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman from 100 Mile House.

“Variable temperatures significantly increase the risks associated with any activity on frozen lakes or rivers, and we urge everyone to use extreme caution,” Sgt. Scott Clay, detachment commander of the Anahim Lake RCMP, said in the release. “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased during this difficult time.”

The BC Coroners Service is investigating the deaths and police believe there was no criminality involved.