A Highgate man drowned today when his all-terrain vehicle broke through the ice in Lake Champlain about a half mile from shore.
Bernard Lamarche, 61, was in the freezing water roughly 45 minutes before being pulled out by rescue teams, state police said.
A call alerting emergency crews to the accident came in around 9 this morning.
The Coast Guard, North Hero fire department, Grand Isle Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue and the state police dive team responded to the call.
The accident happened off Poquette Lane in Macomb Bay, also known as the Isle LaMotte Passage.
The four-wheeler loaded with fishing equipment sank to the bottom of the lake and a commercial salvage operation was called in to retrieve it from about 12 feet of water.