On May 11, 2020, at approximately 2:30 p.m., La Ronge RCMP received a complaint that two persons were delayed and one had possibly fallen through the ice on Nemeiben Lake.
Officers were notified that a 61-year-old male and another male were traveling on an air boat to a cabin. When the air boat broke down, the two individuals retrieved a snowmobile to try and pull the air boat across the ice. While operating the snowmobile, it broke through the ice. The individuals were able to free themselves and both started walking in separate directions. One towards the cabin, the other towards a nearby dock.
The complainant had been watching the 61-year-old male walk towards shore out on the ice and a moment later, they noticed he was gone. They then called La Ronge RCMP.
Officers conducted an initial investigation and once on scene, tried to determine whether the man was on the lake or at the shoreline. Due to poor ice conditions, La Ronge RCMP was also working to get air assistance.
At 4:40 p.m. the officer on scene saw what they believed to be a person on the ice several kilometers away. At the same time, a helicopter was flying to the location and with the combined efforts of the helicopter, Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, they located and retrieved the 61-year-old male from the ice.
The 61-year-old male was transported to hospital for treatment.