Update on Friday snowmobile fatality in Oneida County

Updated to include cause of death. 

Courtesy of Oneida County Sheriff's Office

At approximately 11:18 a.m., the Oneida County Dispatch received a 911 call of a single snowmobile through the ice in shallow water on the shore of Lake Mildred in the township of Newbold. The operator, 58-year-old Russell A. Johnson, of Rhinelander, was found near the snowmobile.

Medics were sent to the scene and Johnson was transported to Ministry St. Mary's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to Oneida County Captain Terri Hook, Johnson's cause of death was determined to be a medical issue, believed to be heart related.

Oneida County Deputies were assisted by the Newbold Fire Department, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Rhinelander Fire Department.