Snowmobilers Who Died on Oneida County Lake Identified

RHINELANDER, Wis. (AP) – Sheriff’s officials have identified the snowmobilers who died in an Oneida County lake.

Two snowmobilers died and a third survived after their sleds hit open water on Lake Nokomis about 3 a.m. Sunday.

Sheriff Grady Hartman said Monday the men were on separate snowmobiles when they hit thin ice and then plunged into the water.

Thirty-one-year-old David Erdman, of Hubertus, and 27-year-old Kurtis Shernell, of Hustisford, died.

Twenty-six-year-old Austin Zillmer, of Sussex, was able to make it out of the water and called 911.

Hartman says it’s not yet known whether alcohol was involved in the deaths.