The body of a 77-year-old man who had been ice fishing on Perch Lake in southern Bayfield County was recovered Sunday morning, the apparent victim of a drowning.
The body was found beyond a stretch of open water between the shore and the lake ice where the man apparently had been fishing, according to the Bayfield County Sheriff's Office.
The victim was identified as Louis Bickel of Mason, Wis.
For authorities, the episode began late Saturday night when the Bickel's wife contacted the Sheriff's Office, reporting that her husband hadn't returned from ice fishing in Drummond.
According to the Sheriff's Office:
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Deputies went to the lake and found the man's vehicle. They discovered 15 feet of open water between the shore and the lake ice. About 50 feet out, they found a hole in the ice with ice fishing equipment around it.
Because the ice conditions were unsafe, the search was suspended until the next morning. About 10 a.m. Sunday, searchers found Bickel's body in about 18 feet of water in the same location where the fishing equipment had been spotted the previous night.
Several units assisted in the recovery, including the Sawyer County Dive Team, local fire departments and wardens with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission who brought their wind sled.
