GOFFSTOWN, N.H. (WHDH) - Authorities are investigating after emergency crews recovered the body of a 50-year-old man from the bottom of a frozen pond in Goffstown, New Hampshire on Friday.
Emergency responders on an airboat could be seen pulling the body from a hole in the ice in the Piscataquog River on the Goffstown/Manchester, New Hampshire line.
Crews were called to the scene after his girlfriend notified police that he didn’t return home from an ATV ride. That then led investigators to a hole in the ice, next to which they found a helmet.
“Next to the hole in the ice, there was a helmet sitting there,” New Hampshire Fish and Game Lt. Adam Cheney said. “One of the guys from the fire department thought he could see a rim to a four-wheeler in the hole in about 10 feet of water.”
Divers recovered the man’s body around 10:45 a.m. His name has not been released.
“It’s so hard for the family, it’s going to be a tough one,” said Denis Veilleux, the victim’s brother-in-law. “I can’t believe this is a place he doesn’t make it out of.”
Veilleux said he and his brother-in-law often snowmobiled and boated on the Piscataquog River, in addition to taking ATV rides on the ice.
“It’s tragic, it’s just tragic. You never think it’s going to get you,” Veilleux added.
Cheney warned Granite Staters that the ice is not safe because water temperatures have been fluctuating.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)