Man dies after falling through the ice at Woods Canyon Lake
COCONINO COUNTY, Ariz. - A man died after falling through the ice in Woods Canyon Lake in Coconino County – a recreational area northeast of Payson.
The incident happened on Dec. 22 around 3:15 p.m. and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office confirmed that it did recover a body just after 10 a.m. on Dec. 23 with the assistance of the Gila County dive team.
CCSO says the victim was a 26-year-old man, but didn't release his name. The sheriff's office previously said the victim was an ASU student, but later wouldn't confirm that.
Two others fell through the ice, but were able to make it out of the water safely.
"No further information is available currently. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Gila County Sheriff’s Office Dive team and the Forest Lakes Fire Department, Department of Public Safety Air rescue and the United States Forest Service for their assistance in this incident. The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind recreators and visitors to use extreme caution and avoid frozen waterways," the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said.
This isn’t the first time something tragic like this has happened in this area.
In December 2022, three people died at Woods Canyon Lake after walking on the ice and falling into the water.
‘Avoid going out on the ice altogether’
"If you see the pictures that came out, that was a partially frozen lake. That lake had not completely frozen over. So the thickness of that ice couldn’t have been good. You also compound it when you have more than one person standing in one spot. It just creates a bigger weight issue. Our advice is just to avoid going out on the ice altogether," said CCSO spokesperson Jon Paxton.
This is especially true with the warm winter weather the high country has experienced.
Investigators believe that this was an accident, but the medical examiner will give the official cause of death.