Missing Town of Delavan snowmobiler found dead on Sunday

TOWN OF DELAVAN (WITI) -- Officials with the Town of Delavan Police Department say a missing snowmobiler was found dead on Sunday, February 23rd.

Police say they were notified of the missing 51-year-old man on Sunday morning by his family, who told police the man had left his residence alone on his snowmobile around 7:00 p.m. Saturday.

Police say the man's family members said that early Sunday, they discovered that the man had not returned home, and they went out looking for him. They reportedly came upon his wrecked snowmobile in some cattails in a remote location along the south side of an area known as the Delavan Lake Inlet.

Town of Delavan police and several other agencies performed a search for the man. Agencies involved included the Walworth Co. Sheriff's Office, the city of Delavan Police Department, the Williams Bay Police Department, the Wisconsin DNR, Fire/Rescue agencies from Elkhorn, Williams Bay, the city of Delavan and the city of Lake Geneva, along with Flight for Life, which assisted in an aerial search.

Police say the man's body was eventually discovered not far from his wrecked snowmobile -- fully obscured by deep snow and heavy cattail cover.

Police say their initial investigation has revealed the man left the lake ice at a high rate of speed and was thrown from the snowmobile -- which went airborne during the accident.

This incident, and the man's cause of death remain under investigation.

The victim's identity has not yet been released.