Snowmobile crashes through thin ice on Day County lake; body recovered

December 20, 2022

Mike Tanner

WEBSTER, S.D.–Tragedy in Day County where a man has died after his snowmobile broke through a patch of thin ice on Bitter Lake.

Authorities began the search for the missing person on Sunday, after being notified that the snowmobiler had not been heard from since earlier in the afternoon.

Several agencies including the Day County Sheriff’s Office, South Dakota Highway Patrol, conservation officers with the Game, Fish and Parks Department and Codington County Search and Rescue began looking for the man throughout Sunday Night.

The search resumed Monday morning, and that’s when the man’s body was recovered.

Law enforcement has not released his name, but relatives on social media identify him as Ben Jorgenson.

The sheriff’s office says no foul play is suspected, calling it a, “truly unfortunate accident.”