Montgomery County Emergency Manager Brian Hamman says members of the Midwest Regional Dive Team were called to assist Poweshiek County authorities at Lake Ponderosa for a recovery of a man that fell through the ice Saturday evening. The dive team left this (Monday) morning.

The unidentified man was riding an all-terrain vehicle on Lake Ponderosa when ice broke and he fell into the lake.  Divers and searchers have unsuccessfully tried to locate the man since he went into the icy water on the northeast side of the lake located near Montezuma around 6 p.m. Saturday. A search went on until about 2 a.m. Sunday when it was called off because equipment kept freezing. The search continued Sunday afternoon but ended just after 6 p.m.

Efforts to find the man were suspended indefinitely because it became too dangerous for divers.   Montezuma Fire Chief Chris Widmer says divers, plunging into 37-degree water, were unable to find the man whose name is expected to be released later today (Monday).