UPDATE: Wright County Searching for Two Snowmobilers in Lake Charlotte

UPDATE: 11 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 15 On January 15th at about 2:30 p.m., the bodies of two adult males were recovered from Lake Charlotte. They have been identified as Brad Skafte, 20, and Adam Patnode, 19, former Rockford High School students. Skafte lived on the lake between St. Michael and Buffalo. Patnode lived in Corcoran.

Wright County Sheriff Joe Hagerty said the duo was possibly heading to another friend's cabin when they hit open water.

UPDATE: 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 15 – According to reports in the Minnapolis Star Tribune and other local media outlets, divers pulled two young men from Lake Charlotte Sunday, believed to be the two snowmobilers authorities were looking for Saturday night.

Their names have not been released, pending notification of the families.

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Two men are missing, and one man has been rescued due to open ice on Lake Charlotte in rural Wright County.

Wright County Sheriff Joe Hagerty reports that around 9 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, the Wright County Sheriff's Office received a report of an ATV that had gone through the ice on Lake Charlotte near the address of 33 Halsey Ave. SE in Rockford Township.

The responding deputy was able to determine that a 66-year-old Buffalo man had driven his ATV (four-wheeler) onto the ice after observing what he thought to be a snowmobile go through the ice shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday night. While looking for the snowmobile, the ATV also went through the ice. The man on the ATV was helped out of the water by a neighbor, but the ATV was not recovered.

The Wright County Sheriff's Office conducted a search of the area for the snowmobile with the assistance of the Hanover Fire Department and a helicopter from the Minnesota State Patrol.

Searchers were able to locate snowmobile tracks that lead to an area of open water. During the search, the Sheriff's Office was contacted by the families of two young male adults who were missing. The men reported missing were believed to be snowmobiling on the lake.

The Sheriff's Office will be continuing the search today with the assistance of divers.

Ice on lakes in the area was reported in the range of 8 inches thick, but ice houses have gone through on a few lakes due to trapped heat.