Rescue workers search Sunday for a Smithfield man after the all-terrain vehicle he was driving with three others aboard broke through the ice on North Pond earlier in the day. Rescuers later Sunday found the submerged body of Jeremiah Meader, 42, of Smithfield, who was driving the ATV with three others aboard when it broke through the ice. Photo provided by Maine Warden Service
SMITHFIELD — Divers from the Maine Warden Service recovered the body of a Smithfield man Sunday after the all-terrain vehicle he was driving with three others aboard broke through the ice on North Pond earlier in the day.
Jeremiah Meader, 42, was driving his side-by-side UTV across the pond with his wife and two other adult passengers at about 1 a.m. Sunday when it broke through the ice, according to Mark Latti, communications director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
Meader and his passengers were returning home after leaving a friend’s home, Latti said early Sunday evening in a statement to the news media.
“When the ATV broke through, Meader’s wife and two passengers were able to get out of the ATV, but Meader was unable to get out of the 2020 Yamaha UTV before it completely submerged,” Latti said. “One of the friends tried to dive down into the icy water to try and retrieve Meader but was unsuccessful.”
The three then tried to find their way home, but due to the extreme fog and darkness, they were unable to find their way off the ice and were rescued by emergency rescue personnel at about 2:30 a.m., according to Latti.
“The two friends were treated for hypothermia and released, but Meader’s wife was taken to the hospital and released later Sunday morning. Maine Game Wardens and rescue workers searched for Meader until early (Sunday) morning, but were unsuccessful.”
Tire tracks lead to broken ice and open water Sunday after an all-terrain vehicle broke through the ice on North Pond in Smithfield. Rescue workers later Sunday found the submerged body of Jeremiah Meader, 42, of Smithfield, who was driving the ATV with three others aboard when it broke through the ice. Photo provided by Maine Warden Service
At about 7 a.m., Maine game wardens, Maine Warden Service divers and rescue workers from the Smithfield, Rome, Belgrade, Norridgewock, Oakland and Skowhegan fire departments and Delta Ambulance Service reconvened to resume searching for Meader, whose Facebook page says he was a manufacturing operator at New Balance and went to Lawrence High School in Fairfield.
Crews and Meader’s family members and friends gathered at the Smithfield Fire Station, he said.
“The Maine Warden Service dispatched two airboats with Warden Service divers out onto the ice to search for Meader,” Latti said. “The group went to an area approximately a quarter-mile from shore, where the UTV broke through the 2 inches of soft, gray ice.”
The divers recovered Meader’s body at about 1:20 p.m. in about 8 feet of water, Latti said. The body was taken to Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service.
“Ice conditions vary greatly across the state, and everyone needs to check the ice before heading out,” Sgt. Josh Bubier of the Maine Warden Service said in the statement to the media. “While in some areas the ice may be thick enough, in other areas it can be dangerously thin.”
Broken ice and open water show where an all-terrain vehicle broke through the ice early Sunday on North Pond in Smithfield. Rescue workers later Sunday found the submerged body of Jeremiah Meader, 42, of Smithfield, who was driving the ATV with three others aboard when it broke through the ice. Photo provided by Maine Warden Service
It was unusually warm for a New Year’s Day — about 50 degrees — on North Pond, where some people could be seen ice fishing near shacks not far from areas that abutted large areas of open water.
The ATV crash reportedly occurred near Pine Tree Camp off Pine Tree Camp Road, but that access was gated.
Chief Jeff Pelletier of the Smithfield Fire Department told a reporter in a telephone interview Sunday morning he had no comment on the incident and the news media was not being allowed near the scene.
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