One Dead After Trying To Retrieve Ice Skates

(HUNTSVILLE, ON) – On Saturday March 22, 2025 The Huntsville Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police and Emergency Services responded to a call of a male that had gone through the ice on Lake of Bays, near Baxter Lane in Algonquin Highlands Township.

Witnesses advised a male had been out on the ice retrieving stakes and was found floating in the water. The male was brought to shore and lifesaving measures were performed until EMS arrived.

Regrettably, a 59 year old male of Milton Ontario was not able to be revived and was pronounced deceased. This incident is not deemed suspicious at this time.

Every year, needless preventable tragedies occur on our area water and ice surfaces which could have been avoided, and emergency services are counting on you to make that decision to stay OFF the ICE.

Any ice surface user must remember that NO ice is Safe Ice and that any travel on the current water/ice surface conditions, if any ice should even exist, should be wearing proper survival clothing/suit, having a fully charged cell phone along with telling a friend, neighbour, family member or work supervisor of your destination. The following link has further safety suggestions should anyone travel over area water or ice.

The OPP is committed to boater education, marine patrol/law enforcement and saving lives on more than 110,000 square kilometers of Ontario waterways. With capsized vessels and falling overboard the top contributing factors in boating deaths every year, a significant number of lives stand to be saved if boaters, personal watercraft users and paddlers wore a lifejacket or personal floatation device (PFD). 

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