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NORTH WEBSTER - A Wabash man drowned Friday after falling through the ice on Shock Lake in the Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area near North Webster.
The body of Randall Bell, 41, was pulled from the water shortly before 10 a.m. Saturday near an area where Bell's fishing equipment was found frozen into the ice.
According to the Department of Natural Resources Indiana Conservation Officers, District One, Bell's family reported him missing when he didn't return from his fishing trip. He left home about midnight Thursday and hadn't returned by 8 p.m. Friday.
Sometime after Bell's family notified authorities, his truck was located at the Shock Lake boat ramp. Divers went into the water at 8 a.m. Saturday near Bell's equipment and located his body under water.
It is not known how thick the ice was while Bell was fishing on it, but it was about 1 inch thick when conservation officers located Bell's equipment. The ice had melted some and refroze, trapping some of Bell's fishing gear.
Assisting at the scene were officers from North Webster and Warsaw police departments and the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.
