Ice Fisherman Drowns in Geneva Lake

An ice fisherman drowned in Geneva Lake on Tuesday, according to Town of Linn Police Department.

According to police, the fisherman’s wife called police when his phone started going straight to voicemail.          

The police department said the ice has thawed to a point that is dangerous to be on.

Michael Zielinski’s pickup truck was parked at the pier.

He had gone out on the lake to ice fish sometime around 3:00 AM on Tuesday and was nowhere to be found.

Michael’s wife told officers on the scene she had been attempting to contact Michael on his cellphone all day to check in on him, but he never answered.

His wife said she looked around the shore lines for Michael, but was unable to locate him there or see him on the lake itself.

According to police, she asked for help because the ice on the lake looked unsafe to be walking on at this time as it was filled with cracks, and had several areas of open water.

Department deployed their drone with a Forward Looking IfraREd camera to perform an aerial search of the lake and shorelines.

A faint heat signature was found in the water.

Zielinski’s body was located in the lake.

It is unclear how long Zielinski had been down for.