Southbridge man, 27, dies after falling through ice while snowmobiling at Dudley pond

By Matt Rocheleau, Globe Correspondent

A 27-year-old Southbridge man has died after he and two friends fell through ice while snowmobiling on a pond in Dudley Saturday night. They were pulled from the water by local firefighters and emergency medical workers, authorities said yesterday.

Richard C. Redfield, of Rose Street, had been in the water at New Pond for at least 15 minutes before fire department and emergency medical service officials from Dudley were able to rescue him, according to the Worcester County District Attorney’s office.

Redfield was taken to Harrington Healthcare at Hubbard in Webster where he later died, authorities said. One of his friends was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester for minor injuries

Redfield was snowmobiling with friends Jeffrey P. Lougie, 37, of Dudley, and Wayne Montigny, 47, of Killingly, Conn., when all three fell through the ice about 100 yards off shore near 9 Hillcrest St., in the southern, central Massachusetts town that borders Connecticut, the district attorney’s office said. All three men had been pulled from the water by 5:45 p.m., officials said last night.

The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause and manner of death, and State Police detectives assigned to the district attorney’s office, state environmental police and Dudley Police continue to investigate, official said.

The town police department referred questions to the district attorney’s office. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office could not provide more details about the incident. Dudley Fire officials referred questions to the department’s chief, who was not available to comment today.

The fatal ice accident comes less than one week after the state’s fire marshal issued a reminder to residents about the dangers of outdoor ice and cold water.

“Each winter, injuries from hypothermia are reported, in addition to skaters and ice fishermen falling through ice, boaters and canoeists overturning in their crafts, and people chasing their unleashed pets onto the ice,” Massachusetts Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said in a statement last Tuesday. “There are several variables that affect the strength of ice on bodies of water, so many that no ice can ever be declared completely safe, especially running water in streams, brooks, rivers … The only truly safe ice is at your local skating rink.”

Because air temperature changes continuously, ice can frequently thaw and re-freeze, according to state fire officials. And, other factors – including uneven ice thickness, water currents, tree stumps, rocks and groundwater springs – can weaken the ice.

About 10 people die from unintentional drowning each day and it is estimated that half of all drowning victims die from the effects of cold water, not the fatal effects of water-filled lungs, state officials said citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Additional information on ice and cold water safety can be found here and here.