BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 31, 2025
John Soares and Matthew Soares of New Jersey were fishing around the Moody Islands but decided to go to the back side of Sugar Island to get out of the wind. John, who was driving the snowmobile, saw a pressure ridge between the point and the island and slowed down, remembering being told not to go near visible marker buoys on their sled. Just then, as they moved slowly, the sled broke through the ice. He hit the throttle to try to get out of it, but the sled sank. John got out of the cold water quickly. His passenger Matthew, who was fully in the water, panicked at first but managed to get out too. The men walked to the tree line and called 911.