UPDATE: Sunday, March 4th at 9:00 a.m.

The name of the elderly man who died after his car fell through the ice in Marinette County has been released.

Divers recovered the body of 79 year-old Herbert C. Lax, Jr. of Green Bay on Saturday. He was found partially out of his red truck, 12 to 13 feet under the surafce off the end of Maple Beach Road on the north side of the lake.

Marinette County Sheriff Jerome Sauve is warning recreational lake users that it is a dangerous area. The Middle Inlet Creek is flowing into the lake, causing the ice to become very thin in a large area near where the tragedy occurred.


MIDDLE INLET — One man is dead after his vehicle fell through the ice on Lake Noquebay in the town of Middle Inlet Friday night.

At 8:55 p.m., Marinette County Dispatch received a call of a possible vehicle that had gone through the ice on Lake Noquebay off of Maple Beach Road on the north side of the lake. The call came from a fisherman who spotted a cooler floating in the lake on his way off of the water.

Sheriff’s Deputies, Middle Inlet Fire Department and Crivitz Rescue were dispatched to the scene. The Town of Stephenson Fire Department also responded to the call with their air boat.

From the boat and using an underwater camera, authorities could see a red truck and a body of a male partially out of the vehicle on the bottom of the lake, about twelve feet from the surface. Marinette County Sheriff’s dive team members were later able to recover the body of an elderly male.

The male is believed to have been alone in his truck when it went through the ice. The Marinette County Deputy Coroner pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

The investigation into the man’s death is continuing by both the Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner. The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

Authorities say the area is dangerous due to the Middle Inlet Creek that flows into the lake near Maple Beach Road. Barrier tape has been placed across the end of the road at the lake and cones are in place around the open water where the truck went through.

The Sheriff’s Office is warning the public that ice conditions are deteriorating quickly. The danger is deceiving as in areas such as this, where the ice wears thin from the bottom.