New details on the body recovered in Lake of the Woods drowning

The Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s office has reported that they recovered the body of an apparent drowning victim near Flag Island on Lake of the Woods Thursday afternoon.

A commercial transport vehicle known as a “Bomber” crashed through the ice Thursday morning and the body of a male passenger was recovered about seven hours later by the Cass County Lakes Area Dive Team.

Bombers are equipped with caterpillar tracks. They are used on the Minnesota side of the lake to bring customers to and from ice fishing locations away from shore.

The victim’s name has not been released and the incident remains under investigation pending autopsy.

New Details: Paul Colson, owner of Jake’s Northwest Angle Resort, told the Star Tribune that a neighboring resort was operating a snow bus when it broke through the ice. Colson said around five or six passengers were able to escape with the help of the driver.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said ice conditions have deteriorated in recent days. Beltrami County Sheriff Jason Riggs said on Facebook that “few, if any, areas of the state have the ice thickness necessary” to hold structures placed on the ice for fishermen.