RANGELEY — The Maine Warden Service is continuing to monitor Rangeley Lake for open water or ice thick enough to walk on to resume the search for three missing snowmobilers.

Maine Warden Service spokesman Cpl. John MacDonald said Thursday that they are still waiting for improved conditions.

Additional Photos

Two Maine Warden Service air boats head out on the ice on Rangeley Lake in Rangeley earlier this month to the open water location where four snowmobiles went through the ice on Dec. 30.

The search for the men, who are presumed dead, was called off last week because of high wind and freezing temperatures.

Above average temperatures reached 35 degrees in Rangeley the last two days, but there is still high wind, according to the National Weather Service.

Sonar used in the search last week revealed two, possibly three, snowmobiles in the lake where three snowmobiles are assumed to have gone through the ice last week, according to MacDonald.

High wind and cold temperatures have delayed the search since.

The search for the men — Glenn Henderson, 43, of Sabattus, his cousin, Kenneth Henderson, 40, of China, and friend John Spencer, 41, of Litchfield — began after they were reported missing early Monday, Dec. 31.

Wardens found gloves and helmets believed to belong to the missing men, while searching for Dawn Newell, 45, of Yarmouth, who went into the lake the night of Sunday, Dec. 30, while snowmobiling with her son. Her body was recovered the next day.

The accident was part of what probably was the worst snowmobile tragedy in state history. No state officials can recall when four snowmobile riders were killed in the same place at roughly the same time.

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