Two Men Missing After Snowcat Potentially Went Trough Ice

Authorities are searching for two men who went missing on the Grand Mesa after driving their snowcat on the ice of Island Lake.

According to the Delta County Sheriff, Mark Taylor, 30-year-old Ryan Wells and 30-year-old Richard Colton are missing.

The two men checking into the Grand Mesa Lodge Sunday night with 30-year-old Dustin Gray and 38-year-old Cedaredge resident Kandi Casaus. Casaus and Gray have been located.

The night before, Wells asked the Mesa Lodge owner lodge owner, Michael Wenner, if the ice was safe enough to take his snowcat. Wenner suggested against it, seeing the snowcat weighed an approximate 15,000 pounds.

During the search, a relative followed snowcat tracks to the edge of the lake --where it looked like the machine went onto the ice-- then followed the tracks about 150 yards from shore where they found a large hole in the ice where the snowcat could have potentially gone through.

Delta County Search and Rescue responded and could not find evidence that indicated either of the two men had walked away from the broken ice. Authorities also contacted other search and rescue outfits searching to investigate under the ice. They're awaiting an underwater drone to arrive to accomplish this.

We'll update this story as more information comes in.