Snowmobile Fatality Occurred In Goose Hole

2/20/12 – It was a tragic weekend on Beaver Dam Lake after a group of a half dozen snowmobile riders fell into the water. One person was killed and three were transported to the hospital. Dodge County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Loos says the call was reported to dispatch at 6:30pm and the rescue operation took two hours until they pulled the last person out, who was the fatality. There was initial concern because first responders were not sure if there were six people involved or seven. Two of the six were able to ride their snowmobile back to shore. The incident occurred in the middle of the lake but most emergency personnel assembled at Beaver Dam’s Waterworks Park. Loos says the snowmobiles did not crash through the ice but instead hit an open patch of water. He described the area as a “goose hole” where geese have congregated for most of the season. The incident is under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. There was also help from fire departments in Horicon, Hustisford, Fox Lake and Beaver Dam along with Dodge County Sheriffs Department, Beaver Dam Police Department, the Air One Helicopter and the Fond du Lac and Columbia County dive teams. Loos says if the ice rescue equipment and the personnel trained to use it were did not respond then there probably would have been more fatalities than one. The names of those involved have not yet been released but Sheriff Todd Nehls confirmed that the man killed was a family member. All the victims were from Beaver Dam and ranged in age from their teens to their 40’s.